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Friday, March 6, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW
Focus
When The Lens And The Chemistry It Holds Is Illusion
Blurred
chemistry: Will Smith as Nicky and Margot Robbie as Jess in Glenn Ficarra and
James Requa's con-artist romance drama
"Focus".
Warner Brothers
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday,
March 6,
2015
The fast scam, fast hustle world of Nicky (Will Smith) and Jess (Margot Robbie)
amount to a house of illusions in "Focus", the con-artist romance drama written
and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa ("crazy,
stupid, love.") Dripping with color, allure and style, "Focus"
has more than a few dull-thud moments interrupting any semblance of chemistry
Mr. Smith and Ms. Robbie share.
Nicky takes Jess, who loves to pick-pocket watches, under his wing in New
Orleans and elsewhere. A con-man extraordinaire, he shows her the ropes
and ropes her in to his club of amiable thieves. Nicky warns Jess "that
heart will get you killed" in the hustle life but like many of us Nicky ignores
his own wise advice. Within five scenes he knows he's (effortlessly)
falling hard for Jess, whose eagerness and conscience are either a show of
loyalty to him or turn-on-a-dime convenience.
"Focus" keeps us guessing as to who's playing whom, and often Mr. Ficarra and
Mr. Requa's film tries to play us an audience. B.D. Wong, a charismatic
villain-type the manner of which you'd expect to see in an "Ocean's Eleven" or
007 film, is part of the heist of tricks, as is Gerard McRaney, who makes the
most of his limited time on screen as a gruff-type looking to nail Nicky to the
wall. He's on to Nicky's assorted schemes and psychological maneuverings,
many of which appear laughable on reflection.
There's enjoyment and brightness in quite a bit of the first two-thirds of
"Focus", with a few laughs to boot, but much of this caper is rooted in surface
and gloss. The con is in the couture and the actors who try to look
interested in the cat-and-mouse con games being played on them and others.
Speaking of looks, Mr. Smith looks very tired here, and Ms. Robbie looks like a
shimmering object you'd put on a mantelpiece. Every time Nicky glimpses
Jess in a different iteration he looks as if he's shocked to have found the
missing ornament for a Christmas tree or the matching cufflink to his expensive
suit. Ms. Robbie is all decor and glamour, an interchangeable well-dressed
card in a variable deck. The problem is, both lead characters are hollow
-- flat, if not flat-lined. The sparks they provide are mostly in the
sheen of the wardrobe they don.
Thus the leads' interpersonal chemistry feels forced. Some shots of them
together look truncated and calculated enough to hide the lack of onscreen
potency Ms. Robbie and Mr. Smith have. Granted, "Focus" doesn't shy away
from their intimate moments; it's that their moments lack a sense of conviction.
Their scenes are obligatory rather than connective or consequential. And
they are easily dispensable. After doing its best with rather thin
material "Focus" strains and stretches to fit its running time with a weird,
forced plot twist, struggling to reach a resolution, ultimately laboring to the
finish line.
In "Six Degrees Of Separation" years ago Mr. Smith had a cool, easy way as a
con-man in John Guare's account of a true story. The film was dank but he
was its big sexy. A jewel all his own, Mr. Smith possessed confidence and
a razor-sharp skill-set. As a Big Apple con-man who fleeced tons of cash
from Manhattan millionaires, Mr. Smith was brilliant -- wickedly charming,
fearless and ingratiating. He popped off the screen. A
fresher-than-Fresh Prince. In "Focus" he sags, seems bored and looks as if
he's been to one-too-many rodeos.
Ms. Robbie ("The
Wolf Of Wall Street") has potential but "Focus" limits her.
She's too much of an assistant, less of an ingénue, and a mainly
non-existent entity. Her Jess is too much a sidekick to the beleaguered
men who showcase her. She's no Glenne Headly ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels").
Jess is dependent, bewildered and despondent, saddled and mired in the lot of
some sad-sack male gamblers who just don't know when to say when.
While I enjoyed "Focus" at times, it ran out of good cons to keep me
entertained. You can't teach this old film critic new tricks. As for
old superstars Mr. Smith's trademark cache has been cashed in. Yesterday's
shiny toys are inevitably put out to pasture. Perhaps the con is truly on,
and Mr. Smith himself could well be its intended target.
Also with: Adrian Martinez, Rodrigo Santoro, Brennan Brown, Robert Taylor.
"Focus" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
for language, some sexual content and brief
violence. Its running time is one
hour and 45 minutes.
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