The Lookout

 The Lookout 2007

• Director: Scott Frank
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Segio Di Zio
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Knives Out, Looper, The Dark Knight Rises Again, Inception, 500 Days of Summer, The Miracle at St Ana, Brick, Third Rock from the Sun, Ten Things I Hate about You
• Jeff Daniels – Looper, Infamous, Good Night and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale, The Hours, Pleasantville, Speed, Terms of Endearment
• Matthew Goode – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Downton Abbey, The Imitation Game, Dancing on the Edge, Copying Beethoven
• Isla Fisher – The Great Gatsby
• Why? Good film
• Seen: Once before. Now 3 July 2022      

       On prom night Chris (JG-L) kills two of his classmates and is brain damaged through reckless driving. Four years later he is still trying to learn how to read, keep track of time, open tins, stop crying, make coffee, remember the word for tomato, behave acceptably in social situations.

       He works as a night cleaner in a bank, which is why he is exploited by slippery ex-con Gary (Goode) into a plan to rob the bank. His main role is the be their lookout. Chris’s roommate and friend, blind Lewis (Daniels) suspects something is wrong but does nothing until it is too late.

       It’s far from just a heist film. It’s exciting, yes, but it’s also a character study of a kid who once had a golden future and now visits the sight of the accident every day with his haunting memories, a young man carrying a card to explain to strangers that he has several mental disabilities.

       Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a strong performance. 

4* of 5