Plot twists can make or break a movie. We’ve seen
them done correctly (The Life of David Gale)
and we’ve seen them done half-wittedly (Identity).
Unfortunately, the tricky twirl, featured at the end of
the script of Matchstick Men is unforgiving
and thoroughly awful. For almost an hour and forty-five
minutes, this movie succeeds in entertaining us like none
other, only to fall short in the end and disappoint us. It
does have some good performances and witty dialogue,
though—and all in all—it’s definitely worth watching.
Roy Waller (Nicholas Cage) is a
nutty, obsessive-compulsive con-man who can never keep any
control over himself. He and his partner, Frank Mercer
(Sam Rockwell), have achieved greatness in one
area—working people. The sky is the limit for them, when
it comes to scams, cons, and crimes.
Roy could leave the
business and have enough money to cover himself for the
rest of his life, but lying and cheating have become one
of his addictions. Frank, on the other hand, needs every
single con he commits, in order to pay the month’s rent.
Roy is a tremendously
written and developed character; it’s too bad the
screenwriters didn’t have time to focus on the plot, also.
After the first scene alone, we know that this character
is more than just obsessive-compulsive. Watching Cage tick
whenever there’s a scrap of dirt on a clean floor or too
much sunlight let into a home is hysterical. Add
Roy’s fascination over
the number three and the fact that he will only eat canned
tuna and smoke cigarettes into the mix and you have
yourself the ideal character. Even though much of the
credit for this should go to screenwriters Ted Griffin,
Nick Griffin, Eric Garcia, and Nicholas Griffin, Cage is
the one who really makes his character, who he is. He’s
always intriguing and surprisingly refreshing to watch
onscreen; even when the script in Matchstick Men
slacks, Cage is always there to keep us entertained.
Roy can’t even take care
of himself, efficiently, with all of these ticks and
compulsions. In attempts to fix his disorder, he orders
medication illegally over the phone. Unluckily for
Roy, he accidentally
spills all of his pills down his kitchen sink’s drain,
only to find out that his dealer is no longer working. In
hopes of getting a refill of the prescription, he meets
with a psychiatrist, related to Frank. In one of their
sessions,
Roy’s new doctor
provokes him to talk with his previous family, which he
left behind year’s ago. While his ex-wife won’t talk to
him, his long-lost daughter, Angela (Allison Lohman),
would love to. Before long, the two develop a bond, and
she ends up staying at his place overnight quite often.
The dangerous business that
Roy is in does not allow
one to have a family, though. If he’s going to want to
keep Angela, he’ll need to have to quit being a
con-artist. And so, the insane plot-action begins…
The scenes that feature Lohman
and Cage interacting are quite sweet, and are
really what make the movie. The atrocious ending,
which I will not give away, completely destroys everything
that these scenes (and almost all of the others) stand
for. Matchstick Men represents one of the
only occasions, where I would’ve preferred a film having a
paper-thin, formulaic, and conventional conclusion, rather
than a twisty one.
With all said and done, the six
bucks that I paid for admission to Matchstick Men
was probably worth it. It’ll come across on the
small-screen even better. One’s liking of it will depend
on their reaction to the ending. The fun execution and
fabulous performances are enough to keep any viewer
satisfied, however. Matchstick Men is
entertaining and nothing more; the crazy plot is just a
con—don’t let it fool you.
-Danny,
Bucket Reviews
