The Old Man & the Gun

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

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.

Touted as Robert Redford's final film, its main interest point, 'The Old Man and the Gun' interested me even further with positive word of mouth from trusted friends and critics and being among the higher rated films of the year. Alongside ever charming Redford, having the likes of Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek in the same film and that it was directed by David Lowery (best known to me for 'A Ghost Story' and 'Pete's Dragon', found myself liking both in their own way for different reasons, although the former is very polarising) also promises a lot.

While not without its issues, 'The Old Man and the Gun' has a huge amount to recommend and its best assets are pretty wonderful. It very nearly became one of my favourite films of the year, and although it doesn't quite reach that it still is one of 2018's better films from personal opinion and every bit as deserving of the praise it's garnered. That is saying a fair bit as it has been a hit and miss year. And if it really is Redford's last film, he definitely goes out on a high and the film does him justice. Can see that 'The Old Man and the Gun' has not worked for all and that is understandable, it is not hard to see why it hasn't connected with some and any criticisms regarding some of the storytelling and pace are in my opinion valid.

Did think that there are draggy stretches and parts where the storytelling borders on the repetitive side. The ending is rather anti-climactic.

Also felt that Casey Affleck's role was underwritten, it actually felt like it was intended to be a lead role but truncated, and Affleck is a little too laconic in it at times, though there are enough instances to show that it is actually still plays to his strengths as an actor.

However, 'The Old Man and the Gun' is very rewarding elsewhere. Redford piles on the likeability and charm with effortless ease, really terrific work in a performance that dominates in a good way the film, and some of his best in years. The pathos that Sissy Spacek brings to her role is truly moving and while Danny Glover and Tom Waits don't have large roles, somewhat unshowy, they do make strong impressions because their screen presences are pitched perfectly. The character wriitng helps make the characters mostly compelling and they feel like real people, that for Redford's character has remarkable depth and there is a constant sense that Lowery and everybody else had immense respect for Redford without being self-indulgent. Lowery similarly directs impeccably, doing wonders with a story that fits so well with his style. Much of 'The Old Man and the Gun' has a relaxed style but still has momentum to stop it from being aimless.

Visually, 'The Old Man and the Gun' is cleverly shot, with use of zooming and whip-pans, old-school style, that is stylish and affectionate rather than cheap. The scenery and production design are handsome and evocative without being too clean. The music is never too intrusive or too low-key, the jazzy nature nicely understated in parts in a very soothing sense while packing a punch in others. The script doesn't ramble or feel padded and has enough tautness and emotion. 'The Old Man and the Gun' boasts some thrilling action pieces enhanced by the photography, the robberies having the right amount of tension and brio, and the nods to past films, basically looking back on Redford's career and filmography, are affectionate rather than gimmicky. But it works even better in the calmer more introspective character moments. These moments are very charming and also very poignant.

Overall, a very good film with many excellent elements. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Robert Redford headlines this new dramedy from David Lowery (whose last film, "A Ghost Story," I found riveting,) by playing an elderly bank robber who has escaped from prison over a dozen times, and is looking to find love with a woman (Sissy Spacek) while being investigated by law enforcement. The film's old-fashioned color palette, low-key charms, and leisurely pacing feel like a throwback to classic filmmaking in a manner almost never seen in today's modern films, even independent ones. It's impossible not to smile at Redford and Spacek's charisma, and the simple score is charming and lovely. The film certainly has its fair share of amusing and entertaining moments, many of which involve bank robbery attempts and prison escapes. That said, the movie has some noticeable problems with its narrative.

The main problem with the film's story is not that it is contrived (it can be, but it is not too difficult for the viewer to suspend disbelief while watching this film.) Rather, it is that the film can be repetitive. The film's use of montages and similar plot devices (like juxtapositions of bank robbery scenes followed by subsequent juxtapositions of scenes showing the personal lives of major characters) get too repetitive, so much that it is somewhat difficult to feel impacted by their stylistic role in the narrative. For a movie that only lasts a fleeting 93 minutes, the film oddly feels a bit long as well. These narrative issues are (unfortunately) very structural in terms of how they affect the film as a whole, which can be judged by the viewer against the film's positive elements (the performances, simple aesthetics, and tone.) Recommended for theatrical viewing to fans of the cast; all others should probably wait to rent it. 6.5/10

For what is said to be his final movie, it makes sense to talk about actor Robert Redford. Having been in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President's Men, he has a track record of several classical movies, but has managed to maintain a modern career with All is Lost, the Pete's Dragon remake, and even Captain America: The Winter Soldier. How does he manage to keep a lasting legacy when Hollywood tends to dispose of older actors? Robert Redford's personality represents a certain charisma that's so charming that you feel like you could follow him no matter where. His relaxed, more reserved nature allows him to be seen as a classical and modern face that can be liked by most people.

I think a lot it also comes from how little he reveals about his private life. You get the sense that he has nothing to hide, but nothing to present either. He just seems like one of the few honest faces around Hollywood. Because of this, he's always played good guys, rarely stepping into the role of an antagonist. What's good about his role in The Old Man & the Gun is that he plays a criminal whose constantly on that grey line of good and bad.

In 1981, seventy-year-old Forrest Tucker (played by Robert Redford) is a compulsive robber who has a unique way of cleaning out the bank. Unlike the gun wielding, screaming crooks who threaten to kill everyone, Tucker is more likely to walk in with his team, ask for the manager, and simply tell him or her that the bank is being robbed and will use a gun if necessary. The managers comply as he's never rude, and even charming about it. This puts these people in such a relaxed, clearly thrown off position, that he's usually able to walk out without concern.

According to detective John Hunt (played by Casey Affleck), the man assigned to track Tucker, the old man has been in and out of prison several times, always escaping. Hunt spends his time trying to track Tucker throughout Texas, while maintaining his family life. At the same time, Tucker feels confident enough to not only sit with horse rancher Jewel (played by Sissy Spacek), but to also admit he's a bank robber. She too is charmed by his personality and doesn't object. Tucker continues to rob banks, trying to stay ahead of the police and detective Hunt.

As a final outing, The Old Man & the Gun is a good one to go out on. A good but not great movie. It does take advantage of the kind of person Robert Redford is; a charmer. Though I was hesitant, it turns out with the way Redford portrays Tucker, I could see this person as this plausibly good a robbing places. I am glad they also show that he's not a complete success, as they do show that a lot of what he does is more compulsory then anything. This is the kind of role that needs a Robert Redford. This is the kind of role that I could see Cary Grant or Kirk Douglass could have played if the movie had been made back in the eighties.

Speaking of which, director David Lowery (Pete's Dragon, A Ghost Story) tries hard to emulate the style and look of an eighties movies, with a softer picture and even a grainer look. Though I don't know if this makes the movie bad, I'm not sure why this style was done for this kind of movie. I think it was to have a similar feel for the Redford classic, The Sting.

The reason I bring this up is that it results is more of a "style over substance" movie that I think detracts from the movie's more character driven intention. It's still interesting to hear these characters converse, but something about the way it was made kept me unengaged. I think if the project had been made more traditionally, this may have sold it better, showing that Redford isn't a product of the time. The good news is that much of the style is made up with the material and the actors delivering it.

I'll give this seven old hearing pieces out of ten. Though I'm not sure what could have elevated it as one of the greats of his career, Robert Redford does prove that his charisma can carry a movie fine. It'll defiantly please his fans and those wanting a movie that does feel like an eighties movie; not the cult ones, but the slower, more atmospheric ones like a Robert Altman picture. Give it a watch and see if this was a good one to end on.