The Lookout (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Scott Frank

Writer (WGA):

Scott Frank (written by)

Release Date:

30 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Whoever has the money has the power

Plot:

Chris is a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank, where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Athlete | Janitor | Planning | High School Athlete

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Chris Pratt
Jeff Daniels	...	Lewis
Matthew Goode	...	Gary Spargo
Isla Fisher	...	Luvlee
Carla Gugino	...	Janet
Bruce McGill	...	Robert Pratt
Alberta Watson	...	Barbara Pratt
Alex Borstein	...	Mrs. Lange
Sergio Di Zio	...	Deputy Ted
David Huband	...	Mr. Tuttle
Laura Vandervoort	...	Kelly
Greg Dunham	...	Bone
Morgan Kelly	...	Marty
Aaron Berg	...	Cork
Tinsel Korey	...	Maura

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-13 (video rating) (2007)

Filming Locations:

Hartney, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The film's translation in Russia is "Fraud"

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film takes place in Kansas, yet the hockey game Chris listens to at the bank is a Detroit Red Wings game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The radio play-by-play is being announced by Ken Kal, who is the Detroit Red Wings' local radio voice. Chris should not have been able to listen to a local Detroit radio broadcast hundreds of miles away in Kansas.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chris Pratt: It only happens once a year, and then they die. It's like a mating ritual or something.
Kelly: Isn't that romantic?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shuffle Your Feet

The Lookout delivers.

I had a conversation with a friend earlier this week, regarding the lack of effort being put into films these days. In the 21st century, there are very few films worth seeing, in comparison to the earlier 80's, and 90's. Back then, there weren't 100's of movies being churned out a week, with only 1 or 2 being even half decent. This is the reason that this movie took me entirely by surprise.

The movie is centered around Chris Pratt ( Josepth Gordon-Levitt), a partially handicapped man, in his earlier 20's. Chris used to live a great life, have great friends, and amazing talent on the ice. Now, after a car accident that changed his life, he suffers from slight mental handicaps, although they are prominently random, and don't have a major effect on the movie. Chris is still recovering from his car crash, and trying to move up in his job. He works at "Noah's Central Bank" as a Janitor, but has been pushing to be a teller for ages. Desperate for companions, Chris jumps at the first person to befriend him, and slowly falls into the wrong crowd. As Chris gets deeper and deeper in with his group of friends, he's pressured to help them with a robbery. Only catch: The heist is taking place at his bank.

Although the movie seems pretty straightforward, the plot can be deceiving. First of all, if you are going to this movie expecting a movie based solely around a bank heist ( a la Inside Man), go to blockbusters and rent "Dog Day Afternoon". This movie focuses, for the most part, around Chris, and his decent from an innocent, hard working Janitor, to a confused, misled, and frustrated individual. Although not of the same Hollywood callibur as movies such as Inside Man, it is still easily worth the ticket. Which brings me to my next point.

After seeing this movie, I felt refreshed. I went into a movie, expecting explosions, poor dialogue, and close ups of bodies being blown away. I couldn't of been farther off. This movie veers away from Hollywood, and it pulls it off miraculously. The dialogue is crisp, the violence existing, but not overused, and the characters deep. I may only be so impressed by this movie because of what I was expecting, but I none the less recommend it to anyone willing to actually think during a movie, rather than watch a bunch of cars blow up.