Matchstick Men as a whole, showcases a more lighter and quirkier side of Ridley Scott that we haven’t seen before. The film stars Nicolas Cage in mad-form as an obsessive-compulsive con man Roy who with partner in crime, Frank (played by Sam Rockwell) cons various big people in financial schemes but his personal life is more tragic than his high-concept job would have you think. He is addicted to illegal pills that help controls his ticks, which have all been made worse from his failed marriage and have left him socially inept from those around him. One day he finds out he has a daughter he never knew of and she steadily comes into his life and wants to form a father – daughter bond with him. His life is significantly improved after some time spent with her and he feels more confident and happy as the plot goes along. Soon after he reluctantly shows her the ropes of his job and lets her in on a major scheme that may test their relationship and unravel more than what may be on the surface.
Just from watching Nicholas Cage in this movie I was remarkably entranced. We are all aware of his famous oddball performances that have made his name in the best and worst sense and so there are features, or dare I say ‘ticks’, that present themselves through his performances and, brilliantly, Ridley Scott uses all that to their advantage in this film. With said ticks, Nicolas Cage is able to present a character that isn’t just a reflection of himself but also as a three-dimensional human being, underneath the slickness of his profession as basically a criminal with words. To watch the relationship between Nicholas Cage and his daughter (played by Alison Lohman) is fascinating also and to see Roy transform from this extremely compulsive and awkward individual to effectively a more happy person around her is really well done; and it isn’t played out for cheap sentimentality either but for genuine, honest emotion.
The film does reach a third act that has plenty going for it, in terms of twists and turns and wether you buy it or not would depend on if you completely bought into the portrayals and relationships of the characters and on the strength on this I did. If I had any criticism of this film it is that – and I know that Nicolas Cage is the star of the film – as soon as Alison Lohman’s Angela shares much of the screen time with Cage, Sam Rockwell becomes oddly sidelined from the two. It would have been more of a triumph to see scenes that balance both Roy’s interactions with his daughter and with Frank together – which would unravel how Roy deals with different responses to Roy’s offbeat personality.
This film is apparently based on a novel of the same name by Eric Garcia, though I can’t say how much of a faithful adaptation the film is to the novel, I can say it certainly has the benefit of Ridley Scott weaving the strong elements of the film together seamlessly which would do the novel justice and is saddled also with a brilliantly off-kilter performance from Nicholas Cage that ranks amongst his best roles.
3/5
Filmlife 