The Lookout (2007)

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels Director: Scott Frank



Review :
Heist Story with a Human Twist, August 20, 2007
By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
THE LOOKOUT, written and directed by Scott Frank (who also wrote 'The Interpreter', 'Minority Report', 'Get Shorty', 'Dead Again', etc.) is a clever story of a bank robbery but that is really a secondary plot to this excellent drama that deals with characters with impairments and how they cope with the world at large. The cast is superb and the film ranks with the fine 'sleepers' of the year. It is a movie that is not to be overlooked.

Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, rapidly becoming one of the top screen presences) is one year post automobile accident that has left him with altered memory function. Once a banner boy in athletics and scholastics, he is now reduced to living his life with the aid of a pocket notebook that 'reminds' him to 'wake up, shower with soap, get dressed etc'. He lives with a blind roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels in another fine performance) who works with Chris, helping him adjust to his handicap by teaching him to work backwards in his thinking as an aid to progressive memory capture. Chris carries a card with him that informs people he is brain damaged and for the most part people are kind and help him go about his daily routine: he works as a janitor in a bank with the hopes of becoming a teller one day. Chris encounters an old acquaintance Gary (Matthew Goode) in a bar and after a conversation Gary sees Chris as a perfect foil for a planned robbery of the bank where Chris works at night. The mounting frustrations of Chris' handicap bring him to the point where he will do anything for change and he hesitantly agrees to be the lookout for the back robbery. When the night of the robbery arrives and things go awry, Chris reverses his decision to participate and the traumas that occur bring Chris' memory back and a surprise resolution to the story is very successful on many levels.

The script is beautifully crafted and impeccably delivered by Gordon-Levitt, Daniels, Goode and the supporting cast. The DVD featurettes are almost as exciting in the information they offer, especially from Gordon-Levitt, as the film itself. This is an example of a low budget film that is smart, classy, addresses human issues in a straightforward manner, and has more depth than the majority of films that have come out this year. It is a film that is highly recommended viewing on many levels. Grady Harp, August 07