Based on a true story of an elderly "gentleman bank robber," this delightful movie has laughs, action of a geriatric sort, no violence, and references to star Robert Redford's previous work here and there. Redford (last blogged for Truth) announced in August, after his 82nd birthday, that he'd retire after this movie.
Love interest Sissy Spacek (most recently in these pages for The Master) is charming and cohorts Danny Glover and Tom Waits (last blogged for Sorry to Bother You and Seven Psychopaths, respectively) are amusing and no spring chickens themselves. Casey Affleck reteams with his A Ghost Story director/writer David Lowery as the detective who wants to catch the robber in the 1980s. Lowery based the script on a 2003 New Yorker article by staff writer David Grann, who was able to interview the real robber, Forrest Tucker, before Tucker's 2004 death in prison (you can read the full article here).
The are fun photos of Redford as a younger man used to depict the robber earlier in his life.
I'm immensely enjoying streaming the light jazzy soundtrack by Daniel Hart (last in these pages for scoring A Ghost Story) on spotify, where the commercials come in occasional clumps instead of after every song on youtube.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics line up more with Jack and me, averaging 90%, than its audiences at 69. We recommend this pleasant diversion.
As you may have heard from a friend of mine, I was an extra in this film and got to spend a very enjoyable 12 hour day, four and a half of which consisted of sitting in a conference room in the Texas Loan and Commerce Bank observing all that goes into making a 30 second portion of a movie. While moving quite slowly, Robert Redford nonetheless does a great job of portraying the gentleman bank robber and impressing all who had the opportunity to see him in what may be his final performance.
ReplyDeleteI did hear! Congrats!
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