It takes a while for Nicolas Cage's Matchstick Men to strike, but he proves a pro at this con.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published September 11, 2003
[Photo: Warner Bros.]
Nicolas Cage brings unscripted wit to his role as an obsessive-compulsive con man in the Ridley Scott film.
View a clip
Like all good con games, the final act of Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men sneaks up on viewers, making us reconsider each step leading to that point, leaving us to wonder how we missed all the red flags. It's a final series of twists worthy of The Sting, for a movie that until that point has been a persistent throb.
Nothing will be spoiled here except to assure moviegoers that Scott's payoff is worth the wait. Anyone seeking the art of the con must be patient while Scott examines the heart of the con with an emphasis on character rather than scheming. Matchstick Men isn't slick like Ocean's Eleven or charismatic like Catch Me If You Can, although certain elements are the same. But it's a yarn that gets niftier with each passing scene, even if moviegoers can't really tell at the time.
Nicolas Cage again displays his knack for tics and jitters as Roy Waller, a grifter with his fair share of big scores despite an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder with a touch of agoraphobia. Cage is funnier than the screenplay by brothers Nicholas and Ted Griffin (who also penned Ocean's Eleven), turning eye twitches and a strange gulping sound into punchlines that can't be on the page. It's a solid performance matched by his co-stars, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman.
Rockwell plays Frank Mercer, Roy's partner for years in minor league deals like the telemarketing scam that opens the movie. Nice payoffs, but it's obvious these guys aren't big-time. That could change if a money-swapping plan Frank concocted works on a blustery pigeon (Bruce McGill) primed for plucking. It's a measure of Matchstick Men's reserve that the expected bonanza isn't a casino haul or a Swiss bank account but $80,000, small change in the cinematic scheme of things.
Meanwhile, Roy's illegally obtained medication has run out, making him a basket case. Frank suggests a trip to a real psychiatrist (Bruce Altman) for a legitimate prescription. In order to get it, Roy must tell the doctor about his personal problems, especially his guilty feelings about abandoning a former wife 14 years ago when she was pregnant. Maybe finding the child - son or daughter, Roy doesn't know - will bring closure to his personal problems.
Enter Angela (Lohman), who is excited to meet her biological father, especially when she learns what he does for a living. Roy's paternal bonding includes teaching Angela a bit of con artistry involving a lottery ticket, although his fatherly instinct makes her return the cash to the unsuspecting mark. But she's good, a natural at the game, and soon Roy decides to use her support in Frank's plan.
That's all that should be revealed. Matchstick Men appears to be forsaking its criminal theme for feel-good family values, and for a while that's enough. Cage and Lohman are entirely convincing; he with his nervousness and she with her frisky, naive spirit. It's a match so good that the scam is almost forgotten, then seems negligible, and finally blooms into a satisfying sucker punch.
Scott's career is filled with gritty dramas (Thelma & Louise) epic adventures (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) and classic horror (Alien), so his easy conversion to light comedy is a surprise. But the humor has an edge, such as the camera speed tricks Scott pulls to convey Roy's disorientation and Frank's support in his own self-interest. The morality of a father teaching his daughter to be a criminal is always questionable. Everyone has good reason not to wish to be involved, a nice change from caper flicks in which revenge or greed blocks the option of dropping out.
Matchstick Men is a nice piece of work, nothing special but certainly entertaining enough. If nothing else it will be remembered as another step in the progressing stardom of Lohman (White Oleander) and Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), two actors who seem capable of just about anything, if the roles are right.
Matchstick Men
Grade: B
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman, Sam Rockwell, Bruce McGill, Bruce Altman
Screenplay: Nicholas Griffin, Ted Griffin, based on the novel by Eric Garcia
Rating: PG-13; profanity, violence, sexual situations
