Matchstick Men (2003)
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Matchstick Men Movie Review
Matchstick Men is a 2003 black comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. It’s a flawed, but very solid Scott flick.
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“Nice to meet you, dad“
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Roy is a con man who is about to work on a huge job with his partner Frank. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when his estranged daughter Angela tells him to mend his ways. This is one very odd movie that doesn’t quite work, but I did respect Scott for even trying to tackle this complicated material. It’s unlike anything else he’s done before or after this one.
The highlight is the acting. Nicolas Cage has rarely been better than he was as Roy, a man who suffers from numerous illnesses, and that neurotic behavior perfectly fits Cage as an over-the-top performer that he is. Cage sold both the comedic and the more melodramatic sequences with style.
Another standout is Alison Lohman, who delivered the most emotional turn of the bunch. I really liked all of their shared scenes together. As for Sam Rockwell, he looked great here and he was as charismatic as ever, but I did find him underutilized as an actor in this feature, which is a real shame. Still, the interplay between the two actors was quite strong.
Matchstick Men is a messy movie that has an overly complicated storyline where Scott tried to grapple with multiple genres. I would say that it is in the comedy department where he succeeded the most, which was unexpected from this director as he rarely does comedies. The humor is quite good and the dialogue is excellent.
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But the heist crime elements simply did not work as well. The twist ending, while undeniably memorable and unexpected, was also a bit too implausible and difficult to believe. There were way too many plot holes in this story. As for the melodramatic elements, they are overly pronounced. The movie is way too sappy for its own sake. But it is well shot, edited, scored and mostly quite engaging, so it still ended up being one of the director’s more underrated efforts.
Matchstick Men is an underrated Ridley Scott flick that is very messy, but undeniably charming and fun. It tried to tackle different genres, best working as a comedy and working the least as a heist crime story due to too many plot holes, though the twist ending was unquestionably memorable. The highlights here are strong humor and dialogue as well as terrific performances from Alison Lohman, Sam Rockwell and especially Nicolas Cage in what is actually one of his best roles.
My Rating – 3.5
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