cinecarl

Coming off "The American Astronaut," the time-travel space odyssey that first introduced festival audiences to his raw talent, Cory McAbee puts another

feather in his cap as an indie actor. But this time, it's not the swaggering side of his persona so often seen on stage or as rocketeer Samuel Curtis. Instead, he crafts a somewhat dimmer, shell-shocked anti-hero of the title character in this thread-bare, albeit ruminating, genre film. McAbee walks a tightrope between

sheepishly impotent and hopelessly lost-as a journeyman safe cracker who can't muster the courage to steal big until a bruised pride fuels his fires-and

convincingly delivers both comedy and genuine suspense mainly by sheer

characterization. McAbee truly holds the screen-he makes a simple revenge

tale plausible by seducing you into rooting for him. At the same time, a host of serio-comic supporting players are able enough to make you pray for their hasty demise. This sort of thing has been done before (literally thousands of times in such crime movies) but few films can boast a lead that compels viewers as well as McAbee. Otherwise, there's a handful of little things that generate lots of laughs, tension, and second-guessing, but the main attraction is the key

performance from the lead actor.

This may be the most impressive film I saw at Telluride. While most of the other festival-goers were busy rifling through their programs looking for the latest celebrity appearance, this little movie snuck up on everyone else. Due to its adherence to genre, it's likely to be under-appreciated by the casual viewer, but there is a distinct knowingness that elevates this film beyond the typical festival fare.

Right from the beginning, with the lengthy single shot that pulls back and brings us into the story, it's clear that atmosphere and tone will play a big part of the telling. Charlie sits holding a hand of cards among a grubby circle of poker players -IN AN EMPTY PUBLIC RESTROOM! The movie is filled with these surprises. It takes a few moments to realize these nuances because this film isn't hitting you over the head with every detail, or slowing down for sweeping panoramas. In fact, it's a bit claustrophobic really. I was also pleasantly surprised that the technical parts of the film were so aptly constructed. There's hardly a cut-away to a close-up in the entire film, none of those awkward moments at the ends of a scene, just straightforward cuts to the next dramatic point and this keeps the tempo brisk and assured.

It's not strictly a thriller, a film noir, a comedy, or a heist film per se. The title character is a safe cracker who doesn't have his heart into the job -or seems to struggle with the moral issues in his line of work- and prefers to keep a hands off approach to stealing. He's scolded for this by his mentor, an elderly blind man who used to crack safes and now has turned over the business to Charlie.

Frankly, it seems that everyone knows what Charlie does and that he isn't very good at it. So by this standard, the lead isn't really a typical hero and the movie isn't really a grist-of-the-mill crime caper. But it is a riveting good time.

What was really an amazing achievement is that the events and characters really suck you into the story until you forget you're watching a bunch of new faces. I hadn't seen any of these actors before, and it never occurred to me that they were all making their debut. You just couldn't tell, they were so confident and believable.

Being an avid film buff, and wanting to see this film again right away, I was disappointed that I was at a festival and would have to wait to catch it in the theaters or on video. By no means is it the kind of film that can be completely soaked in by a single viewing, and in my opinion, this is one of the tests of a great film. There's just so much going on in the way the camera angles restrict the viewing of certain characters, and the repetition of key phrases, that makes we wish I could pause and rewind to see everything again. It amazed me that the tempo and the image clarity was so professional and that the final line is one of the most graceful notes I have ever seen a movie go out on. 5 stars out of 5.

Despite its overtones from "The Glass Key," this movie does a tremendous job of hooking you into the premise very quickly.

There's an immediate conflict for the protagonist here, and like Blood Simple, the Coen's earlier films seemed to give more care to the plot as it winds up tightly. Of course, the role of Johnny Caspar is delicious and Polito knocks it out of the part in ways few actors could, and coupled with the savvy of Finney's mob boss, you quickly and clearly gain the gist of the dilemma that Tom faces, and immediately snuggle in for the rest of the movie. Too bad the Brothers abandoned their faith in plot and headed towards a wild disregard for any coherence after "Fargo." I miss the sense of fate that plays a part in their best movies, stories that seem like they are headed towards a serious and inevitable conclusion. The clumsy ones all feel like they lost their willingness to see the narrative through to its natural end.