O Velho e a Arma

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.

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.

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.