The Stickup (2002)

I think The Stickup is worth your time, overall, if not by an awful lot. I've seen a lot worse than The Stickup, films that have been so much worse and yet have garnered ten times the attention this little joint USA/Canada 2001 production attracted. The film very lightly tackles ideas to do with identity and whether we, as well as the other characters, believe certain individuals are capable of certain things. The film also adopts a neo-noir tone as the lone lead becomes increasingly involved with low-key crimes in a low-key location as he engages in relationships built on shaky trust with mysterious women and the boundaries around him to do with legal and illegal are blurred.The film isn't without its annoyances, but it's unfolded in such a manner that is both nice to look at and easy to just let oneself loose inside of that you begin to grin as the film unfolds more so than you do groan. The film opens with a car chase, a car chase that unashamedly throws in all the clichés and incidences you'd associate with a typical car chase. You've got your near miss with another oncoming car, you've got your incident in which one of the vehicles spins wildly out of control but gloriously has a patch of dirt or gravel to spin onto rather than a brick wall or fifty foot drop thus allowing the regaining of control and you've even got your little stunt at the very end which involves a car overturning. I was pleased it didn't blow up like usual - maybe they couldn't afford it.The man being pursued is John Parker (Spader) and his pursuers are law enforcement. This immediately draws us to conclusions it's only right for them to get their man because surely anyone running from the law must have done something wrong, right? Parker gets away and next we see him in a church, blood dripping from his hands and a big bag of money he's got with him as we assume he repents any sin he may have just committed. What begins in the audience's mind as a tale of regret and putting things right quickly turns into something a little more. The crime infused male fantasy is stepped up a notch when Parker comes into contact with Natalie Wright, played by Leslie Stefanson, who's a nurse in the local hospital.These two come together, initially, in a bar because of a certain song Parker puts on and she comes over. What that song was slips my mind and to a degree, that is a great shame, because here is a chance to reinvent a certain musical track much in the vein of what Tarantino does but also to use it as a reoccurring melody throughout these two person's journey. Once they get talking, Natalie speaks of her divorce and how unhappy she is, as you do to complete strangers from out of town you meet in dodgy bars, and they spend the night at her place somewhat eerily under the resentful eye of her ex-husband Ray DeCarlo (Keith). This guy doubles up as the local sheriff and is same individual that chased Parker in the first scene.What struck me as a little sloppy and silly was the fact she's suddenly helping Parker when he needs it, primarily through the fact he washed her dishes and cleaned up her apartment the following morning. But when she does find out there is a lot of stolen money in Parker's possession and hears about a bank robbery, she puts two and two together which is when the relationship is strained. It's at this point I assumed Natalie would go down the femme fatale route and attempt to take the money for herself but no, the film remains grounded in the small town in which they inhabit and it doesn't branch out to anything other than that. Rather than think that was a bit silly, I thought it was fine and if that's where you want to go then alright and I bought most of it even if, as a result of this non-double cross on Wright's behalf, the film plays out as more of a buddy routine between love allies than it does anything else.There is a degree of spectacle in the film, something that is quite impressive given the understated and direct of video feel this film has. It is bargain bin at you local store or catch it late night on some cable channel, all the time shaking your head in disbelief the film was made in 2001 and wondering where all the time has gone, material if we're all honest but it's perfectly fine. The film is polished and the sense of the spectacle is hammered home as it all unravels in an entertaining way as twists, turns and double crosses become apparent. The film ends in a daft shootout in the woods, meaning we've come all this way just for a guns blazing routine and the background jazz music for some scenes gets a bit annoying but on the whole, I feel it would take someone really cynical to dismiss this piece of work.

Someone described this film as having flown in "below the radar". That's a very apt description. Perhaps "lesser" films with lesser budgets leave the writers and directors (in this case the same person) more artistic freedom to actually realize their ideas -- the script of The Stickup is very intelligent and so totally enjoyable! In it we're presented with an opening car chase where the driver, being pursued by honest looking policemen, looks guilty as hell.Not long afterwards the classic bar scene -- but the other way around and, much to our delight, the Bogart-Bacall-like bantering starts, as has been noted already by many others. (And we're given large servings of it all through the rest of the film!) Who said there's NO chemistry between them? (The actors in question have been together ever since shooting this film and are now engaged.) Simply watch the hands of James Spader.The third component making this film so special and enjoyable is of course the young innocent FBI-agent, with all his quirks but immediately accepted by the county's Indians as a man to trust. When his more experienced colleagues defer to him we recognize our own ambition to be respected at work.So if you like surprises and haven't seen this movie you should. Enjoy the ride! At the end of it you can conclude that there are three important lessons to be made: being a crook and a police at the same time + being sneaky + falling in love at first sight all saves a lot of time.

I can imagine people may have trouble following the storyline because much of it is told in flashbacks that I sometimes only just knew were flashbacks a few minutes into the subplot. This convoluted way of telling (and the way in which you have to piece it together) means you never really know what's going to happen next. It may be an ordinary cops and robber story at some point, or turn out to be a modern Bonnie and Clyde at another point. The way people keep chasing one another stays within realistic limits and never strays into the completely unrealistic escapes and shootouts we know from many blockbusters. In my opinion a well worked out plot but you have to pay attention to it to follow it.

Although the idea behind this movie is not particularly original, it still has merit - it's a tried and trusted formula which can work well if done correctly.Unfortunately, it doesn't really succeed this time around. The cast tries hard and they all give creditable performances. The directing is competent enough with the action moving up or down in pace at a reasonable level that doesn't throw the storyline around in an unbelievable fashion. The flashbacks are handled well, bringing everything together in a tidy, coherent fashion.But ultimately, the movie fails to really hold the viewer's interest and it makes the cardinal sin in a movie of this type; it fails to produce characters with whom we, the viewers, can identify. Each of the characters is just a little too perfect.However, it's worth watching the first 15 minutes simply for the joke about the Irish guys ;-)