Life of Crime: Scambio a sorpresa

Life of Crime is an aptly titled crime dramedy based on The Switch, a novel by the late Elmore Leonard whose comically dark prose has inspired other noir films like Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight. It's a slow burning pot boiler but one that simmers with sure-fisted wit, eclectic style and filled with the type of tension that stretches but never snaps.

Written for the screen and directed by Daniel Schechter, this black comedy begins with two petty criminals plotting to kidnap Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston), the trophy wife of Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins) a corrupt businessman who has amassed a fortune by evading tax authorities. Having done their homework on Frank and how much money is stashed away in a tax-free Bahamas bank, Louis (John Hawkes) and Ordell (Mos Def) are the aforementioned crooks who think they have hatched the perfect plan – hold the wife ransom in exchange for the husband's ill-gotten wealth. But unknown to these misdemeanors, Frank has no intention of getting his wife back. Worst of all, Frank's got a hot little mistress (Isla Fisher as Melanie) who has a plan of her own but one that could elevate her status from a gold digger to the new Mrs. Dawson.

Set in the late 1970s Detroit, Life of Crime is potentially familiar in swagger to last year's multi-Oscar nominated American Hustle. Even so, I suspect Schechter has intended for a deeper narration – try homage to the Coen Brothers' acclaimed masterpiece, Fargo. But where those films excelled in authentic storytelling prowess, Life of Crime is a low budget film that seems to be content with a medley of delicious dialogue from improvised characters. From Melanie and Frank to fumbling crooks with terrific lines, spunky characterization works like the unwrapping of a multilayered gift where you get to see what's on the inside at the very end. Mickey is no exception either, going from a beaten-down and delusional housewife to a survivalist with vivacious insight. This is also where Aniston strides further than any of her previous roles and is definitely one of her best performances to date. Also thrown in for kicks are two of Leonard's oddball characters – a neo-Nazi gun nut played by Mark Boone Junior and Will Forte as a weirdo who has the hots for Mickey – both ambiguous characters whose inclusion adds humour but also detracts from the main plot.

For a small scale crime thriller and Schechter's third foray as a director, Life of Crime may not be a very good screen adaptation but where it struggles in its dwindling screenplay, it makes up with an ensemble cast that turns out to be the film's saving grace. Perhaps Tarantino would have done a better job, especially with a montage ending that seems to suggest that the story has only just begun. Then again, that film would have been and entirely different cat and mouse game.

In Life of Crime, unlike many crime thrillers, the focus is on the characters rather than on achievement of maximum possible violence. All of the major characters have their stories and some of them seem to learn from their foolish and sometimes implausible actions. To me, it's refreshing to watch a crime movie in which things continually go wrong as the limitations of the characters are revealed. There's violence, a natural accompaniment to crime, but it's normal violence, not extreme and glamorous solutions to problems of psychotics. And people respond to it in ways that are sometimes smart and sometimes stupid. This is a genre movie that's far better than most.

I enjoyed this film a lot. It's not ground breaking or stylish or full of violence. It's nice and easy with funny characters and some laugh out loud moments. A we'll put together, charming film.

It's an interesting film that's trying to be a dark comedy but it's not as dark as I would have expected, which made the laughs long in-between.

I've seen this type of comedy in which the victim befriends the captives because their life was not as put together as hoped. This one takes a slower dramatic pace.

Their were some pretty top notch actors in the film like Tim Robbins, John Hawkes and even Mos Def. It's interesting that Jennifer Aniston took on such a small picture, but maybe they thought her appearance would put people in seats(which I guess is true).

Thought the story was good but the pace of the movie just puts me to sleep (Maybe I actually missed the really fun parts while snoring). Don't kill your time with this one.

"So Richard i got a little joke for you, you might like this one, you too Lewis. A Dude goes to the doctor: Doctor says: Sr. you have to stop masturbating. The patient goes: Why? And the doctor goes: Cause i'm trying to exam you."

-Ordell

I first heard of this film when it premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival, i believe this was actually the film that ended the festival. It's been a year and Toronto 2014 is a couple of days away and only now am i finally seeing this film. I'm not going to lie, the main reason i was interested in seeing this film, is because this is a prequel to Jackie Brown. I was curious to see if the tone was going to be the same and i was interested in seeing the same characters being portrayed by the different actors. I went in without much of an expectation just hoping to have a good time.

Life of Crime is Directed by Daniel Schechter and it stars John Hawkes, Mos Def, Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, Isla Fisher and Will Forte. "Two common criminals get more than they bargained for after kidnapping the wife of a corrupt real-estate developer who shows no interest in paying the $1 million dollar ransom for her safe return."

Life of Crime eventually ended up being released this year and it made very little noise. It didn't open in a great deal of theaters and it's one of those films that has already been forgotten. The critical buzz was not great either, the film was received with mixed opinions and there seems to have been a consensus that this was a passable film. But i have just recently re-watched Tarantino Jackie Brown, and though not favorite of his, i still got to say that's a pretty exciting ride with some characters that i would be glad to see again on the big screen, even if in the hand of another director and different actors.

Life of Crime isn't obviously as good as Jackie Brown and i think nobody was expecting that. It's a flawed picture that isn't exactly memorable or riveting but i think this is still a pretty entertaining little picture.

One of the surprises i had is that this time the film isn't focused on Ordell but it's actually more focused on Lewis. It's also interesting that Lewis character in this film is completely different from De Niro portrayed of Lewis in Tarantino's work. De Niro's Lewis feels almost like a bum, a no life and here Lewis is a bad motherf*cker, he seems to be way more dangerous than Ordell. And he has a heart too something we don't find in Jackie Brown

Ordell and Lewis though are the only characters present from Jackie Brown. The material from the two films comes from the same auteur but it is there where the two movies similarities end.

Life of Crime does share from it's own share of problems. I think one of the things that makes Tarantino's version more exciting is not only that his writing is much better than the one found here. Jackie Brown is a much more twisted story and it feels more exciting and it's also much more funny. This one is always amusing and there were some laughs here and there, the story is also twisted and we are never sure to whether the picture is going to move next but i felt an overall lack of energy. I guess it's because the lead characters just ain't as memorable here.

The characters here feel a bit lifeless when compared with characters such as Ordell and Jackie Brown in Jackie Brown. I don't blame it on the actors, i blame it on the screenplay that simply ain't as good. The performances here are fine, John Hawkes is a very underrated actor and it was good to see Jennifer Aniston playing a different role for change and by the way she plays it well. Faces like Tim Robbins also appear on screen and Isla Fisher, Will Forte and Mos Def all turn with decent performances. Just that non of them is particularly electrifying.

Life of Crime ain't a particularly dull or bad experience. It has some decent performances in it and it's in the end an entertaining amusing experience but i can't say it's much else. That's why this film as kind of been already forgotten. I would still say though that it is worth a watch.

Rating:C+