The Lookout - 2007

Directed By: Scott Frank
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Guigino, Alberta Watson, Bruce McGill

Scott Frank, is well known in Hollywood for his screenwriting credentials. He’s responsible for Out of Sight, Get Shorty and The Interpreter. Yet for his directorial debut he seems to have forgotten a cardinal rule of writing. Unless you know where your characters end how can they possibly get there. And this is the biggest problem with the enjoyable if never excellent The Lookout.
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a brain damaged ex high school hockey player after a tragic accident. He’s has problems sequencing and as such his life is pretty restricted. He works as a janitor in a local bank, and lives with a blind, pitch perfect Jeff Daniels, roommate.
As events unfold, Chris meets Gary (Matthew Goode) in a bar and the two hit it off, Gary went to the same school as Chris and was in his sister’s year a few above Chris. It not long before Frank reveals the crux of the narrative, the title of the film, referring to Chris’ role in an attempt bank robbery.
It’s this which really makes the film struggle to find a focus. As a character study of someone with brain damage attempting to come to terms with the tragedy they caused and the effects it has, this film reaches for great heights, and doesn’t fall too short. As a heist film, its one of the worst you’re likely to see, with the heist itself, struggling to raise even an ounce of suspense or intrigue.
Even the direction falls down in the heist scenes. Whilst Frank clearly seemed intrigued and compelled by the notion of someone who was once the coolest kid in high school now reduced to taking notes of everything he has to do he seems unable to draw on the brilliant wit of Out of Sight or Get Shorty and thus the film feels lost in between the two. Isla Fisher plays friend of Gary’s who is used to lure Chris into helping them and then subsequently disappears with seemingly no explanation. We are to assume her conscience got the better of her, but surely she could have been a character to help Chris get over his remorse and guilt and move on. Instead she’s an opportunity wasted. Jeff Daniels is superb as Chris’ blind housemate Lewis but has only a few scenes and although brilliant in all of them, one wonders if this wouldn’t have made for a more curious and interesting story.
The criminals are all nondescript and bar Bone, a long haired, leather jacket wearing character that is not seen without sunglasses and the look of a psycho. He stands out like a sore thumb alongside all the other criminals. In fact he’s the type of character you might expect to find in a Lynch film.
The performances are good, exceptional from Gordon-Levitt and Daniels in particular which makes the whole experience of the robbery grate even more. Once the anticlimactic finale comes and Chris uses his disadvantage to an advantage any attempt at a rousing finale feels long lost and lacking any real catharsis the film ends up feeling like a wasted opportunity to work with two great actors.
For a screenwriter so illustrious and so accomplished at crime fiction this feels like a major letdown. As a director Frank handles himself well, but never achieves anything more than mediocrity. In fact some of his shots are little intrusive and as a result you lose sight of the environment and context for a lot of the film. It feels like he has attempted to create an iconic indie break out hit but has missed to stop so widely simply because he was attempting to hit that niche. Instead, had he let the story dictate and focused on the relationship between Lewis and Chris and made the backstory more significant to the resolution then this would no doubt have scored a big hit with an intriguing, original story.
Lacking in the cohesion and focus needed, this film is saved only by some great scenes with Gordon-Levitt and Daniels. Otherwise a missed opportunity.