The Old Man & the Gun

Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, and Ben Affleck star in this low-key crime, comedy, drama. With more informal elements from Heat (1995) starring Al Pacino and Robert de Niro with an interweaving focus on both the criminal and the law enforcement characters and a relational theme reminiscent of The Bridges of Madison County with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, this movie uses what seems like unnecessary experiment uses of the camera resulting in some odd off scene focuses and seems almost too slow in places with its pacing like the aging characters themselves. The strength of the movie though are its reflections on being old and the flashes of elegance as a criminal gentleman from Robert Redford. The storyline has some emotive punch and a bit of drama, yet it also becomes unnecessarily puzzling towards the end with how the criminal justice system metes out justice. The ending itself seems more of a puff ball ending that avoids the more poignant meaningful conclusion to a life of crime.

"The Old Man and the Gun" script is adapted from New Yorker article of the same name, that follows the (mostly true) story of the last years a life-long criminal and prison escape artist, bank robber Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford). To a lesser extent the movie is, also, the story of the man who will join the hunt for the robber, John Hunt (Casey Affleck), a police detective somewhat jaded with his job. For me, this was relative an enjoyable movie - for home screening - but that may not be enough to entice you into a theater. Maybe it will sound strange, but just like the slow-moving individuals in the movie, "The Old Man and the Gun" is somehow boring film that keeps you entertained, at a slower pace. 6+/7- out of 10.

When have you ever been able to sit back and watch a man commit a crime with a smile on his face and not even feel remotely bad for the people he is victimizing? Personally, I always watch heist movies and feel bad for the victims, regardless of how truly endangered they are. If your leading man or lady has good intentions, then it becomes easier to watch, but I've never quite had an experience like The Old Man and the Gun before. This is a film that takes its time telling the story at hand and there's hardly ever an exciting moment, but it never feels like it drags. This is (surprisingly) a true story that I believe everyone will get a kick out of and here's why.

Following Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford) after he has escaped from prison, The Old Man and the Gun is really just about a man who doesn't have many years left in his life and simply wishes to do what makes him happy. Robbing banks in the most polite way that he possibly can, without ever harming anyone, and pretty much always getting away with it, the character of Forrest is absolutely perfect for the way this film portrays him. Whether he's in a high-speed chase to the sound of a calm country song or sitting in a diner with a woman whom he's trying to form a connection with, this is truly one of the most relaxing experiences I think I've ever had at the movies in quite some time.

Robert Redford has always been a likable screen presence. Since his early days in movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to even small roles in films like Pete's Dragon today, he has always had the charisma to charm his audience. This may very well be his final performance and if that's really the case, I believe he has gone out on a very high note. I don't believe this film isn't going to win any awards or really be nominated for all that much, but in terms of purely enjoying a character on-screen, The Old Man and the Gun delivers on everything you'd expect, and then some.

Yes, as I said, this is a very calm film, so what's a calm experience without the much-needed elements. For a movie like this, you'd expect a slow score and music that will put you at ease, along with some solid comedy in the moments where he may be going a little too far for his particular characteristics. The film provides all of that and more. There were moments where I felt he was about to go out of character, but then the film either came up with a joke to make you feel comfortable about his choices or played a country song that was so on the nose that it makes you laugh. For as slow as this film is, it never once had me checking my watch. This 90-minute film flies by, even with its slow pace.

In the end, The Old Man and the Gun is the type of film that's very hard to find a complaint about. It has a specific direction and it sticks with it throughout its entire duration. It's about a wanted gentleman who goes under the radar and robs banks, finds love and is continuously hunted by the police (namely a cop played by Casey Affleck, who is also extremely enjoyable in the movie). Look, if you're looking for a complex cops and robbers story, then I would look elsewhere, but if you just want to relax at the movies and have a good time, this is the perfect film for exactly that. The Old Man and the Gun comes highly recommended from me.

If you took all the scenes in this movie, tossed them in the air and reassembled them in whatever order they came to hand -- and you did this fifty times -- you'd have the same movie every time. It consists of a bunch of Robert Redford winks and nods juxtaposed with a recurring clip of a guy in a fedora walking into a bank. That's the way it starts, and that's the way it ends, the only variation being an occasional glimpse of two old folks having a cup of coffee in a diner. The movie advertises the great Tom Waits as a member of the cast, but gives Mr. Waits a bare three-minute dialogue (the movie's highlight), seeing no reason to let him sing a song or even to include a Tom Waits song in its score. Too bad, because this is a film that could have used a soulful, raspy voice in the background, there being so little of interest happening in the foreground.

Watching Robert Redford breeze through The Old Man and the Gun, I am reminded that a minimalist drama like this can serve one purpose only if it wants: See an 82-year-old movie star gracefully perform again, with dignity. However, this film offers more in its smallness: seasoned actors like Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, and Tom Waits provide momentary joy beyond Redford's sustaining charisma.

Despite the clichéd bank robbery motif, based on the real-life career of serial robber Forrest Tucker, his eighty robberies and 16 prison escapes reveal not a mean man but rather a charmer who robs because it makes him smile and who helps others when he doesn't have to.

Old Man hints at deeper emotional possibilities when it's discovered that his daughter, played by Elizabeth Moss, is unknown to him:

Jewel (Sissy Spacek): "Do you have any children?" Forrest Tucker: "I hope not." The film likes to keep these moments underwritten to suggest the depth as a richness he hasn't ignored but prefers to keep at bay. That spareness of emotion, dialogue, and sustained discourse adds to the mystery of a man who floats above daily intercourse to pursue a passion, albeit robbery.

Redford shuffles a bit like an old man, but he teases us with the wisdom he holds behind that killer smile and a youthful insouciance that makes him ageless.

You will not be revisiting the wisecracking of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or the sophistication of The Sting; you will get a fun heist film featuring a star who evidences the reason he has 78 entries in his filmography and originated a seminal cultural institution, The Sundance Institute. A bit like the underplaying but still prolific and passionate Forrest Tucker.

It's infectious: "I've been thinking about a bank robbery my whole life." Ryan Gosling