The Old Man & The Gun: Film Review

The Old Man & The Gun: Film Review

Cast: Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck
Director: David Lowery

Touted as Robert Redford's cinematic swansong, and marketed thus, the latest film from A Ghost Story's David Lowery uses Redford's undeniable charm to maximum effect in his take on a true story.

Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a career criminal who used a smile, an apparent gun and a suit to rob banks. Never anything other than unflappably polite, Lowery's tale follows Tucker post-robbery as he encounters Spacek's Jewel, broken down on the side of the road. Striking up a friendship and romantic spark, Tucker resists Jewel's attempts to find out what he does, claiming he's a salesman.

However, on the side, Tucker continues to rob banks with minimum fuss, engaging the interest of ennui-ridden's Detective John Hunt (Affleck), who's hit 40 and is tired of the life he leads.

Piqued by the case dubbed the Over-The-Hill-gang (and more specifically the thrill of the chase) Hunt and Tucker engage in a cat-and-mouse game throughout the years.

The Old Man & The Gun is an intriguingly relaxed film, one that feels like a 70s caper, but resists the smash-and-grab thrills of the heist genre.

Whilst its jazzy score leaves a little to be desired throughout, and is never quite successful in underscoring the atmosphere, the gentle charms of Lowery's piece are curiously affecting in ways that would work even if this were not Redford's farewell.

It may feel like the characters are underwritten in parts - certainly, in Tucker's case, there's nothing but a sort of admiration for the general ballsiness he has to carry out his robberies; but in truth, Redford imbues Tucker with a sort of affection and charm that is more affable rogue than psychologically-scarred inveterate criminal.

It's suited to the way Redford's played his career in many ways, but Lowery's also smart enough to ensure he doesn't overplay the edges, and still adds in some levels of suspense, where really little exists.

There are attempts to flourish the film with 80s-style montages and quick split-screen cuts, but in truth, The Old Man & The Gun is anything but flashy, preferring instead to lay out the threads, subtly tie them together and then have them coincide unexpectedly.

It's not all entirely successful - certainly Elisabeth Moss' cameo seems at odds with the rest of the film, and hints at a darkness that's never fully explored or explained, which would have added further depths to Tucker's behaviour and make-up.

Spacek and Redford have a rapport that's hard to shake, and certainly Jewel's attempts to straighten him out over the years when their paths collided are exerted in subtle moments from the script. Plus there are long shots of the duo simply talking or engaging in daily routines which are seldom seen on the screen these days.

Gently cruising through its 90 minute run time, The Old Man & The Gun works in many ways, and fails in some. But as an almost-shaggy dog story unfolds, it does wrap you up in its charms, and provides you with a poignancy that's hard to shake.