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A Warner Brothers release. Written by Ted and Nicholas Griffin; directed by Ridley Scott; starring Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman and Sam Rockwell. Released to DVD on February 24, 2004.  Matchstick Men is a movie that succeeds to the degree it does in spite of its many faults. Imagining what this project would have been without the presence of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman and director Ridley Scott is scary; minus the ever-so-competent acting and the stylish presentation, Matchstick Men would have quickly buckled under the weight of its own gimmick and formula. Cage stars here as Roy Waller, an obsessive/compulsive who makes a very good living working as a con man. Waller spends an inordinate amount of time ensuring that his days are kept static; routine is his lifeblood. Waller’s life is thrown for a major loop when his 14-year old daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman), re-enters his life. The timing of this move couldn’t be worse for Waller: Angela returns just as he and his partner, Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell), are entering the final stages of an elaborate con they have designed. Adapted from novelist Eric Garcia’s book of the same name, Matchstick Men features an increasingly popular theme in film: an older protagonist is forced to finally grow up because of the presence of a child. In this respect, Matchstick Men is very similar to Nick Hornsby’s About a Boy. However the positive comparisons between the two end there. Sadly, there is no instant fix for Matchstick Men. Simply put, the film has too much plot for its 116-minute running time. Needing to spend time analyzing Waller’s obsessive/compulsive behavior, his con-artist life style, his unique relationship with Mercer, as well with Waller and his daughter and Waller and Mercer planning and executing their big con, Scott just didn’t have enough movie to delve into everything as deeply as is necessary. The unfortunate compromise is that only two of the aforementioned situations are examined with any kind of detail. The other situations are merely floated out in their respective stages of undress for the audience to see. Matchstick Men is not without its saving graces though. Scott does the best he can with this script, Cage’s on-screen chemistry with Lohman is excellent and the nature of their relationship and its development from awkward friends to father and daughter a genuine treat to watch. However, these positives aren’t anywhere near enough to make up for the multitude of questions that arise while watching this film.
jackson casey yes, it's true: Though Alison Lohman plays a 14-year old in Matchstick Men, she is (as of April 1, ‘04) 25 years old. |
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