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The Lookout
Reviewed by Theo Michelfeld
Posted: April 2, 2007

Wanna see a good movie? Here’s one that might not be on your radar this spring. The Lookout is a small-scale, character-driven thriller in the mold of A Simple Plan and A History of Violence. It’s the directing debut of screenwriter Scott Frank, whose credentials include fine adaptations of Out of Sight and Get Shorty. Frank wrote this one too, and it’s crafty stuff. But the film belongs to its star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Gordon-Levitt plays Chris Pratt, a young man suffering from brain damage (also crippling guilt) sustained in a fatal car accident. Four years removed from the tragedy, Chris still spends his days developing coping skills for routine tasks, such as making dinner or getting to work. He has to write everything down, and prompt himself to take almost any action, primarily to overcome the obstacle of “sequencing,” that is, doing things, or remembering things, in the right order. The disability has left Chris depressed and lonely. As the film progresses, it also lands him in serious trouble when he’s taken in, manipulated, and set up by a team of bank robbers. The heist and its aftermath take a few improvisational turns, and Chris soon finds himself using those coping skills and tactics for the very un-routine task of out-smarting ruthless villains who hold every advantage. 

A plot like this could easily be made into a bad, or average film. But Frank’s screenplay does a thorough and satisfying job of creating the character of Chris Pratt. While some screenplays, for fear of appearing shallow, try nobly to sketch a few characters into a bigger, more bombastic filmmaking agenda, this script grows organically out of its protagonist’s qualities. Chris is angry, adrift, and powerless. He’s also trying to get better, and making real progress. He’s experiencing two turning points at once, and therefore he makes a believable patsy on one hand, and a believable hero on the other. For making it all work, credit is due to Scott Frank the director, as well as Scott Frank the writer. The Lookout benefits from deliberate pacing, which indicates a director’s trust in the material, the actors, and the audience.

None of which would have overcome a weak performance by the lead actor. But this film features a great performance. Much of the emotional content takes place on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face, and it’s really an unusually expressive face. It is perhaps not uncommon for an actor to let anger, frustration, regret, hope, courage, fear, and sadness co-mingle within a single performance. But Gordon-Levitt somehow conveys all these emotions through a believably brain-damaged vacuity. It’s not a wordless performance; he has plenty of dialogue. But it is an entirely reactive performance. He is playing a character who can only take cues, from others and even from himself. Subtlety like this takes courage. The dexterity won’t register with some. But check it out, folks. If you like good acting, this star turn is worth the price of admission.

The Lookout is not without its shortcomings. Although the wintry, middle-state, Fargo-esque backdrop has atmosphere, it does not always compute from a logistical standpoint. To put it bluntly: what is this bank doing out in the middle of nowhere? The film has urban settings, including another, much less vulnerable-looking bank. But the sitting duck bank is so remote that when gunfire erupts and windows shatter, no one seems to take notice until the next day? There’s even a cop driving around in the aftermath, handing out moving violations, and somehow this smokey has not yet heard about the mayhem nearby. Few viewers will allow this concession.

It’s an unfortunate and avoidable error, because the script is smart enough to illustrate, on more than one occasion, how Chris’ disability also serves him from time to time. He is consistently underestimated. If he had found his way into a dragnet after the crime, he would have likely received a free pass. This was a missed opportunity to make an airtight and even more harrowing film. As it is, you might find yourself straining to fill in some of the blanks.

Too bad, but don’t let it stop you from seeing this movie. It’s a smart, engaging, exciting, and heartbreaking story. While neither the filmmaking nor the thematic content is likely to knock your socks off, small-scale stories like this provide a welcome tonic, from time to time, from more ambitious recommendable films. Meanwhile you might get your socks knocked off anyway. The acting is terrific.

Copyright © 2007 Theo Michelfeld