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THE LOOKOUT Send This Review to a Friend
There’s a flaw in “The Lookout,” an otherwise taut film written directed by Scott Frank that involves the cynical use of a hapless young man in a robbery scheme. Chris, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, has been left brain damaged from a car accident in which two people were killed. He is a good-natured fellow but with limited capacity, and in an effort to treat him decently, a bank employs him as janitor who works there at night. But would the bank only have a person as limited as Chris as the sole employee watching the place all night long?
With a set-up like that credibility is strained as Chris is persuaded to be the lookout to enable Gary, a former classmate played by Matthew Gode and Bone, portrayed by Greg Dunham, to rob a bank in a Kansas City suburb. Luvlee (Isla Fisher), an ex-stripper, is in on the action with the job of enticing Chris. Jeff Daniels plays Lewis, a blind man with whom Chris rooms.
One feels for Chris, who is a victim of sliminess by those who would take such advantage of him. But it turns out that Chris can only be pushed so far. “The Lookout” creates suspense with its plot, but I couldn’t help wondering all along how a bank would possibly let Chris be the only employee around. A Miramax Films release.
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