Rating of
3/4
LIFF32 (2018) #6
Matthew Brady - wrote on 12/02/18
“And he did.”
The last movie I saw at LIFF (Leeds International Film) and the final performance from Robert Redford (apparently) - and what a way to end this year festival.
‘The Old Man and The Gun’ is one of most endearing and heartfelt movies about bank robbery. A simple story with miraculous results. By the end, I don't know to root for or against the robbers. Throughout the movie I kept being reminded of a similar heist movie that came out this year called ‘Kings of Thieves’, but done better.
David Lowery stylistic directing shines through out. From ‘Pete's Dragon’, ‘A Ghost Story’ and now this movie; Lowery is a special soul. He’s got a unique way of presenting information across, almost like a Edgar Wright type of style by cutting away the fat of pacing. For example: There's a scene where Forrest (Redford) shows Speack a list of prison breaks through his time, and instead of talking about it, Lowery decides to show, not tell while splicing old footage of Redford's movies.
Also, the jazzy score and production design was so great it truly captures the era and tone beautifully.
If Robert Redford claims are true, I couldn’t think of a better exist. Redford is fantastic as always and will be forever missed. The old rebel still got that sparkle in his eyes. The smooth charm makes him appealing. Redford and Spacek are magnificent together. Spacek is brilliant as always, like duh.
The other supporting cast were great as well. Say whatever you want about Casey Affleck, but there’s no doubt he’s a terrific actor and here is no different. John David Washington, Tom Waits and Danny Glover have a handful of entertaining moments, especially a funny scene involving Wait’s character telling a story about why he doesn't like Christmas.
This entire movie felt like a tribute to Redford career with plenty of similarity to his past roles. Nods to ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, ‘All The President's Men’ and ‘All Is Lost’, are only a few. Intentional or not, it feels like a goodbye.
Overall rating: “Well, he was also sort of a gentleman.”
