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MATCHSTICK
MEN
8/10
USA 2003
: Ridley Scott : 116 mins
Matchstick
Men has been universally received as Ridley Scott blowing off steam
after a tiring run of blockbusters – a jazzy little doodle after the sumptuous
canvases of Gladiator,
Black Hawk Down
and Hannibal, with
the daunting Crusades epic Kingdom of Heaven looming ahead. But
critics should remember that many of the novels Graham Greene initially
labelled as ‘Entertainments’ are now regarded as least the equal of his
more theoretically ‘weighty’ efforts. It’s also not an invalid comparison
to note that Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk
Love is still regarded by some as a minor effort after the sprawlingly
‘ambitious’ Boogie Nights
and Magnolia,
though others share this reviewer’s opinion that PDL, though a
miniature, represents a quantum leap forward.
Anderson is
a visionary cinematic genius – Scott a talented but limited craftsman:
an expert filmer of scripts, but very heavily dependent on the quality
of his screenplays. And Matchstick Men – written by Nicholas and
Ted Griffin, from the novel by Eric Garcia - is easily the best
script he’s had through his hands since 1991’s Thelma and Louise,
which means the resulting film is easily his best since that Oscar-winner.
On reflection,
however, Scott has developed considerably as a director over the past
12 years, and perhaps Matchstick Men is in fact his best movie
since Alien a
quarter of a century ago. On further reflection – informed by a recent
viewing of the Alien ‘director’s cut,’ perhaps this is Scott’s
best movie, full stop: not quite in the league of Punch-Drunk Love
(Anderson collaborator Melora Walters pops up uncredited in a tiny
but pivotal role) or Point
Blank (another outsider’s view of California from a British director),
but much closer to the level of those masterpieces than anyone could feasibly
have expected.
It’s certainly
Scott’s best-looking film – which is saying something for a director noted
for the visual stylishness of his work. If there was any justice, John
Mathieson (also responsible for Hannibal and Gladiator, as
well as K-PAX and Love
is the Devil) would be going head to head with Dion Beebe (In
the Cut) for 2003’s cinematography Oscar. Joining him at the Awards
would be fellow nominees Scott and editor Dody Dorn, who also excels herself
– along with Hans Zimmer whose score is very busy, but never quite overpoweringly
so.
And they’d
be accompanied by Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman and Sam Rockwell in the
acting categories. Cage is at least as good here as he was last year in
the nominated Adaptation
double-performance – he plays Roy Waller, a self-styled “con artist”
afflicted with what seems to be a very nasty case of obsessive-compulsive
disorder. He’s so dysfunctional at times as to appear bordlerline autistic,
which causes no end of problems for his partner-in-crime (“my… protégé…”),
the much more laid-back Frank (Rockwell). Further complications arrive
in the petite shape of Angela (Lohman), Frank’s 14-year-old daughter from
his long-dead marriage – but the kid turns out to have a remarkable aptitude
for the family “business”, which proves useful in the ambitious sting
Roy and Frank are planning against shady businessman Frechette (Bruce
McGill)…
To say any
more would be grossly unfair – this is a con-thriller, and an uncommonly
satisfying one: much closer in terms of ingenuity and style to, say, The
Game or Cypher than the rickety
likes of Confidence.
There aren’t many good advertisements for the Hollywood way of movie-making,
but Matchstick Men is one of them. “Safe, simple” is the conmen’s
motto, and it certainly applies to the movie: a terrific script, brought
to the screen by a skilled director in top form, with the perfect cast
and excellent contributions from the behind-the-scenes talent. And who
could dislike any film whose soundtrack goes from George Formby’s “Leaning
on a Lamp-post” to Roxy Music’s “More Than This” (original version, not
Bill Murray) without a ripple of effort?
24th October,
2003
(seen 23rd October : Empire
Theatre, Consett, Co. Durham)
by Neil
Young
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