Film Reviews

Matchstick Men

• Rating:
• Director: Ridley Scott.
• Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohmann, Bruce McGill, Bruce Altman, Steve Eastin, Beth Grant and Melora Walters
• Details: US / 116 mins / (15PG).

After the bombastic 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Hannibal', Ridley Scott goes for more low key material in the con man fable 'Matchstick Men'. In one of those tic-filled roles which seems tailor made for him, Cage plays Roy, a phobic conmen who has major issues with pretty much everything in his ordered life. His protege, Frank Mercer (Rockwell in low rent mode) happens across a potentially massive score, just as Roy's long-lost teenage daughter Angela (Alison Lohman) shows up and awakens some feelings of parental responsibility in our anti-hero. Moving with deliberately slow pacing, mixed through with a heavy dose of sentimentality - lost familial ties and broken dreams are a familiar theme - 'Matchstick Men' is a well acted but fairly drab endeavour. Scott overplays the dysfunctional nature of his central character and thus limits his effectiveness, while Rockwell isn't really given enough to do. To her credit, Lohmann does excellent work as Roy's feisty daughter, but it becomes obvious that the much mooted final con in the movie is the real star. If you accept this twist, which asks you to re-engage with the picture on a whole new level, then in all probability you will emerge from 'Matchstick Men' feeling satisfied. However, if you've lost interest by that point, there's not a whole lot a preposterous twist can do to win it back.

Review by Garreth Murphy