Focus - directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, Adrian Martinez, BD Wong, Brennan Brown
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: M - frequent F bombs but very mild sex and violence
I love a really good con artist movie.
We get decent ones every few years or so with the likes of "The Sting", "The Grifters", the underrated "The Brothers Bloom", David Mamet's excellent "The Spanish Prisoner", Spielberg's terrific "Catch Me If You Can" and the hilarious Michael Caine / Steve Martin hit "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".
Even recent fare "American Hustle" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" did well both critically and commercially.
Now Margot Robbie the actress made a star by that last one returns alongside Will Smith in a con artist movie written and directed by the duo who brought us my favourite Romantic Comedy "Crazy Stupid Love".
(I genuinely, seriously love that movie- review)
So "Focus" brings together a great actress and a great creative team in an often great genre..... how could it miss?
It doesn't - mostly.
It seems to me that the hardest part of making a movie about people whose defining characteristic is deceiving all around them is that your audience knows this going in.
The very second I start watching a movie about con artists I start trying to second guess the writers.
Is that person who they say they are?
Why does she show up right then?
Is that thing that he mentioned just a funny line or will it come back later as a vital plot point?
Does she really like that guy or is she playing him?
The 'she' in this case is Margot Robbie- a stunningly beautiful actress who stormed onto the scene and into the hearts of red blooded men everywhere with her scene stealing turn in Martin Scorsese's wild "The Wolf of Wall Street".
At the time I was astounded to discover that the woman who played the thickly Queen's accented Duchess of Bay Ridge was in fact Australian.
With subsequent roles she has cemented her reputation as every bit as talented as she is gorgeous.
I admit that she was a lot of the draw for me in this movie.
Will Smith is arguably on the other end of the career curve and in recent times has struggled to deliver the hits as he did in the decade between 1995 and 2005.
The man was on a crazy roll with a string of smashes including both Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men In Black.
It is clear that "Focus" is very much a Will Smith vehicle but Robbie gets at least her share of screen time and there is some good chemistry between the pair.
Smith plays seasoned pro Nicky who is way too smart and experienced to fall for the old 'Oh my God it's my husband' routine played on him by Robbie's Jess in an early scene.
He does take her under his wing to teach her the ropes though.
At first it is sleight of hand - lifting wallets, distractions, team work and misdirection but before long she is the best and is poetry in motion in the bustling streets of New Orleans.
But its the scene in which Nicky first trains her that is the most glorious fun.
He explains the techniques as he removes rings, watches, purses, credit cards from her.
It is shot with the same style and effectiveness that Ficarra and Requa employed with "Crazy Stupid Love".
A light, stylish touch but never flashy for flashy's sake.
The soundtrack brings to mind "The Grifters" in the way that it adds a smoothness to the action.
You can almost smell the cocktails, the cash and the perfume.
Nicky has a team around him - people to organise buildings and technology.
Others to fence stolen goods or count cash.
And more of course to directly play out the cons.
One of these is Farhad played by a scene stealing Adrian Martinez whose dialogue with Robbie appears to trigger genuine laughter from her.
Every time Martinez is on screen laughs ensue.
It is fun stuff but the real thrill is in watching Smith and Robbie butt heads and play the will-they, won't-they game.
This leads into the aspect of "Focus" that doesn't work quite so well.
The romance is fine but due to some plot choices it is derailed and we are expected to re-join it some time later.
It is a difficult thing to fool the audience twice about the same thing when the genre has already got them on their toes trying to pick every twist.
For at least three quarters of the movie it works but the last twenty minutes it's just not quite there.
Had it kept up the pace for just that little bit longer this would be really something.
There are signs earlier during a nice extended scene with BD Wong. It is clever but almost too clever for its own good.
As it is "Focus" is a very good movie with some truly great moments and an abundance of marvelous dialogue.
Smith telling Robbie that "There are a lot of Australians in here - there's a reason they were all sent down there" is all the funnier for being directed at one.
Gerald McRaney is an intimidating figure and plays his part wonderfully well too.
There are many, many more good things than bad with "Focus" and if they serve to highlight the shortcomings of the ending then they also did a lot to make me forgive them.
I had a lot of fun with this movie even beyond my appreciation of the performances (chiefly the extraordinary Margot Robbie)
This is a damned finely made movie and a thoroughly entertaining one that falls painfully close to being exceptional.
It was so close to almost having me but heavy handedness at the key moment is death in the sleight of hand game and "Focus" doesn't quite slide the wallet out of the pocket undetected every time.
But don't get me wrong - this is absolutely worth losing a little money on a ticket for.
RATING: 82 / 100
CONCLUSION: Slick, well made fun - more evidence that not only is Robbie the real deal but that Will Smith still has 'it'.
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: M - frequent F bombs but very mild sex and violence
I love a really good con artist movie.
We get decent ones every few years or so with the likes of "The Sting", "The Grifters", the underrated "The Brothers Bloom", David Mamet's excellent "The Spanish Prisoner", Spielberg's terrific "Catch Me If You Can" and the hilarious Michael Caine / Steve Martin hit "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".
Even recent fare "American Hustle" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" did well both critically and commercially.
Now Margot Robbie the actress made a star by that last one returns alongside Will Smith in a con artist movie written and directed by the duo who brought us my favourite Romantic Comedy "Crazy Stupid Love".
(I genuinely, seriously love that movie- review)
So "Focus" brings together a great actress and a great creative team in an often great genre..... how could it miss?
It doesn't - mostly.
It seems to me that the hardest part of making a movie about people whose defining characteristic is deceiving all around them is that your audience knows this going in.
The very second I start watching a movie about con artists I start trying to second guess the writers.
Is that person who they say they are?
Why does she show up right then?
Is that thing that he mentioned just a funny line or will it come back later as a vital plot point?
Does she really like that guy or is she playing him?
The 'she' in this case is Margot Robbie- a stunningly beautiful actress who stormed onto the scene and into the hearts of red blooded men everywhere with her scene stealing turn in Martin Scorsese's wild "The Wolf of Wall Street".
At the time I was astounded to discover that the woman who played the thickly Queen's accented Duchess of Bay Ridge was in fact Australian.
With subsequent roles she has cemented her reputation as every bit as talented as she is gorgeous.
I admit that she was a lot of the draw for me in this movie.
Will Smith is arguably on the other end of the career curve and in recent times has struggled to deliver the hits as he did in the decade between 1995 and 2005.
The man was on a crazy roll with a string of smashes including both Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men In Black.
It is clear that "Focus" is very much a Will Smith vehicle but Robbie gets at least her share of screen time and there is some good chemistry between the pair.
 |
| Will Smith as Nicky - a real return to form |
He does take her under his wing to teach her the ropes though.
At first it is sleight of hand - lifting wallets, distractions, team work and misdirection but before long she is the best and is poetry in motion in the bustling streets of New Orleans.
But its the scene in which Nicky first trains her that is the most glorious fun.
He explains the techniques as he removes rings, watches, purses, credit cards from her.
It is shot with the same style and effectiveness that Ficarra and Requa employed with "Crazy Stupid Love".
A light, stylish touch but never flashy for flashy's sake.
The soundtrack brings to mind "The Grifters" in the way that it adds a smoothness to the action.
You can almost smell the cocktails, the cash and the perfume.
Nicky has a team around him - people to organise buildings and technology.
Others to fence stolen goods or count cash.
And more of course to directly play out the cons.
One of these is Farhad played by a scene stealing Adrian Martinez whose dialogue with Robbie appears to trigger genuine laughter from her.
Every time Martinez is on screen laughs ensue.
It is fun stuff but the real thrill is in watching Smith and Robbie butt heads and play the will-they, won't-they game.
This leads into the aspect of "Focus" that doesn't work quite so well.
 |
| Margot Robbie with Rodrigo Santoro and Adrian Martinez - as talented as she is stunning |
It is a difficult thing to fool the audience twice about the same thing when the genre has already got them on their toes trying to pick every twist.
For at least three quarters of the movie it works but the last twenty minutes it's just not quite there.
Had it kept up the pace for just that little bit longer this would be really something.
There are signs earlier during a nice extended scene with BD Wong. It is clever but almost too clever for its own good.
As it is "Focus" is a very good movie with some truly great moments and an abundance of marvelous dialogue.
Smith telling Robbie that "There are a lot of Australians in here - there's a reason they were all sent down there" is all the funnier for being directed at one.
Gerald McRaney is an intimidating figure and plays his part wonderfully well too.
There are many, many more good things than bad with "Focus" and if they serve to highlight the shortcomings of the ending then they also did a lot to make me forgive them.
I had a lot of fun with this movie even beyond my appreciation of the performances (chiefly the extraordinary Margot Robbie)
This is a damned finely made movie and a thoroughly entertaining one that falls painfully close to being exceptional.
It was so close to almost having me but heavy handedness at the key moment is death in the sleight of hand game and "Focus" doesn't quite slide the wallet out of the pocket undetected every time.
But don't get me wrong - this is absolutely worth losing a little money on a ticket for.
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