Criminal (2004)

I liked Criminal. Almost a lot. This is a good film about the art of the con. Not a great film, but a good one. The Grifters, The House of Games, and, of course, The Sting, are great films about the con. Criminal is a peg below them, but still very enjoyable. The film stars two standard bearers, John C. Reilly and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and an actor I had not previously known, Diego Luna. Reilly plays Richard Gaddis, a professional con man who thinks he is something special. Gyllenhaal plays his sister, Valerie, a concierge at a swanky hotel in Los Angeles, who is more cunning than she lets on. Luna portrays Rodrigo, Gaddis' seemingly compliant understudy. All three give solid performances.The film is well crafted in every respect. I understand now that the film is basically a remake of a foreign film, Nine Queens, which I didn't see. Maybe if I had seen that film I wouldn't have enjoyed this one as much. Since I didn't see it, I don't really know. But since you probably haven't seen that film either, I recommend you see Criminal.I have yet to see a film yet in which Reilly puts in a bad performance, so I wasn't surprised that he did well in Criminal. As a good con man, and as an accomplished actor, he doesn't tip his hand, he's polished, and he is credible. Actually, that goes for the other cast members as well. Unlike The Sting, where you know who is getting stung, and by whom, and even why, in Criminal you think you do, but you don't. It's more like The House of Games, where you don't know what you think you know. Suffice it to say, I didn't see the curve coming. One thing I didn't like about the film is its title. Its bluntness undermines the skill of subtlety with which this film was made. So enjoy this film and find out what you know. And what you don't know.

It's a movie about criminals. So; you can't trust 'em.In a pretty formulaic buddy match-up; an experienced world-weary cynical grifter finds himself an amateurish young trainee. Richard (the elder) is played by J C Reilly, who is blessed with the sort of unmemorable features that make him ill-fitted as a movie lead, yet perhaps ideally-suited for the profession his character represents. He's not quite the criminal big-wheel he fancies himself to be. Rodrigo, the ill-fitting Hispanic rookie is played by Diego Cumo. He's a punk, a loser. Or so it seems.As the movie progresses, we gain some insight into the ruthless mentality of Richard, both by his actions and his confessions. He's not particularly likable. But then neither is Rodrigo, who is evidently smarter than he looks.You can see that this is gonna be a twist-in-the-tail story. The question is, simply: how? In fact, there are several little twists that develop in a rapidly tightening plot. Eventually, I was left wondering - was this gonna be a bloody-awful-shock type ending, or an ironic, humorous morality tail. You can find out for yourselves.Most of what you see has been done before. 'Grifters' is the ultimate hard-edged bloody-awful-shocker, whereas 'The Sting' is probably the most memorable tongue-in-cheek morality scenario. In between there are others - 'Ocean's' several, 'The Score' and of course, this.Don't buy into the detractors too heavily; they may be selling you short. The technical issues of camera-work and sound score, editing etc, are all up to snuff. The players give good turns and the script is more-or-less believable. Watch it without a wallet filled with expectations and you shouldn't come away feeling fleeced.

This is a film adapted from the 2000 release of an Argentine film called "Nine Queens" or "Nueve Reinas". I won't go into too much detail about the plot of the film, because it's hard to do without spoiling it. What I will say is that if you enjoy films of this genre it's well worth devoting an hour and half to. This a well-paced film that wastes no time in delving right into the meat of it's plot line and doesn't let the viewer lose interest by cluttering things up with unnecessary characters or dialog. John C. Reilly plays the part of a con-man to perfection, though maybe not quite as endearing as Ricardo Darin in the original version, he more than compensates for his lack of likability in this film with his tremendous skill as a dramatic actor. Diego Luna, Reilly's younger, baby-faced accomplice in this film is also very enjoyable. His youthful appearance and polite demeanor were perfect for this role which made his performance as a con-man that much more impressive. The story sticks closely to that of the original, yet somehow lacks the intangible "it" that Nine Queens was able to convey. That in no way means that I didn't still enjoy this film. But, if you do like what you see here, make sure you also check out Nine Queens. 8/10

Before setting forth reading my review of Criminal, you must take into account that it's apart of a genre that I cannot get enough of. Even if I finally have gotten out of an obsessive heist/ con phase that lasted almost half a decade, I still glow with infinite enthusiasm when I see one. I've seen Criminal about eight times now. Not as many times as I've seen Ocean's Eleven and Twelve, The Good Thief, Bound, Heist, or Gambit, but considering the amount of time that spans from the present and the time when I first saw it, eight is a big number.Considering the point of view of someone who is not as enthusiastic about heist and con movies, I would have to say this movie is a forgettable piece of channel-flipping entertainment. It's a very well-written, well-acted movie, but you have to be at least a little bit of a fan of the genre, because there's nothing else you can consider it to be. It has the subtlest elements of comedy, drama, and thriller. It couldn't be ruled out as one of the three, because they each blend in so elusively into the film's atmosphere. If you are a fan of the genre, you are in for a more than satisfying treat, almost an orgasm. If you are not, I suppose you can like it well enough, mainly for John C. Reilly's fantastically sleazy performance.It's a great con story with truly surprising twists all through the film, beginning with a series of wonderfully clever short cons that are surely not repeated from any other con films (and believe me, even the most obscure con film you can think of I've probably seen). It's a brain- buster but very relaxing to watch, an easy recliner of a movie, possibly thanks to the very plain, simplistic film-making, almost like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. John C. Reilly adds loads to the level of enjoyment one gets out of this movie, very clearly enjoying his genuinely nasty, arrogant, greedy character. He steals every scene, among other things, and makes for one of the most entertaining grifters in the movies, loud and care-free rather than the usual introverted yet unrealistically suave stoic that we usually see as the thief or con artist in these movies. His level of crassness and immorality, which he blatantly cares nothing about, is sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious in that low-brow way.