The Old Man & the Gun (2018)

I haven't seen enough of his films to consider Robert Redford as one of my favourite actors, but I really like him. So of course I had to see The Old Man & the Gun, a heist movie starring Redford in his alleged last performance before retirement. 

The film tells the true but fictionalized story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford) and follows him after his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 as he continues robbing banks with the help of two other old men, Teddy Green (Danny Glover), and Waller (Tom Waits), falls in love with Jewel (Sissy Spacek), and is pursued by rookie detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck).

The biggest issue I had with The Old Man & the Gun was the plot. It is simply too thin —nearly non-existent, to be honest— to support the running time, hence the film is filled with unnecessary things such as John Hunt's life subplot —it is only distracting. Frankly, I don't understand the need to give Hunt a family since he wasn't married nor had kids, while in the film he is in an interracial marriage. The "issue" isn't even addressed so I don't really get the point— and scenes that add nothing and ends up being tedious and unengaging. It does, however, work as some sort of meditation on life and what it means to find joy in the small things, and I think it's the kind of story that makes for a fitting farewell.

The characters are a little disappointing too. Without much of a plot, the film needed solid characters but unfortunately, they are nearly as shallow as the plot. Most have a nice characterization and development, but the relationships between them aren't developed very well and because of it, they don't feel genuine. The romance between Tucker and Jewel being the only exception because Redford and Spacek have amazing chemistry.

Fox Searchlight Pictures

The acting arguably is the best bit of The Old Man & the Gun. Robert Redford gives yet another charming performance as he brings to the screen another likeable character. Sissy Spacek steals the show as Jewel, giving a very charismatic and moving performance. Danny Glover and Tom Waits do a nice job as Tucker's partners. Elisabeth Moss, who makes a short appearance as Tucker's daughter, also does a good job. The only false note is Casey Affleck who is basically playing himself and mumbling his way through the movie —if it wasn't for the subtitles, I would have missed most of the stuff that came out of his mouth.

Overall, The Old Man & the Gun was quite disappointing. While the ending is wonderful and the acting more than solid, the story is just too slow and dull. Definitely not the farewell an actor such as Robert Redford deserves.

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

I've seen Sorry to Bother You on my Letterboxd homepage many times but, despite it having Tessa Thompson, whom I love, I never bothered watching it, mainly because some of those Letterboxd ratings/reviews were pretty bad. Then Allie over Often Off Topic reviewed it, she talked about how she liked the film, and she really made me want to see it. 

The film is set in an alternate present-day version of Oakland and follows Cassius "Cash" Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a young African-American telemarketer who starts using his white voice and quickly rises through the ranks of his profession. He soon finds himself with plenty of money and no morals as it turns out that the company he works for is completely unethical.

I really liked the idea — the economy is ruined, everyone struggles to find a job so someone creates a company that provides food and shelter for lifelong work contracts— and I was interested in seeing how it'd play out. Unfortunately, it was dreadfully executed and it ended up being tremendously stupid, something that gets more and more ridiculous and uncomfortable to watch as the "plot" moves forward, excruciatingly boring and ultimately unwatchable. It is supposed to deliver a message about the working class and the loss of one's identity, but it gets lost in.

The characters are pretty bad too. Actually, to be fair to awfully written character, I should say Sorry to Bother you features non-existing characters as they have no dimension nor depth whatsoever. Although they aren't presented as caricatures —maybe they would have worked better if they had—, they lack any emotional depth and therefore I didn't sympathize with any of them, nor care about them.

The performances, however, aren't as terrible as one would expect with so little to work with. Lakeith Stanfield gives a solid performance in the lead role as he handles the transition from timid loser to selfish prick very well. Tessa Thompson is equally good as Detroit, Cash's girlfriend, although what sticks the most is her earrings. As for Armie Hammer, who is the only one who is given a character that is presented as a caricature, he's definitely having more fun than I had while watching this crap.

As for the film's style, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it as it's very weird and ambiguous, just like the meaning of the film. The camera work is kind of bizarre, which doesn't necessarily mean bad, but here, I'm more inclined to think that as it is flat and detached as if it was the work of someone who does not like films.