The Lookout

The disadvantaged get the upper hand in "The Lookout," a fast paced drama from writer/director Scott Frank. Here is presented a heist movie of a different caliber. The genre is switched up by the fact that the inside man has short term memory loss. The switch provides a dark and innovative story of guilt and self forgiveness wrapped in an action packed plot. With great performances and story twists, this movie is a cut above most bank robbing films.

Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a popular hockey player that is the star of his high school. That is until the fateful night he crashes into a stalled truck killing two of his friends and causing his own brain damage. His life isn't what he planned as he lives with his blind roommate, Lewis (Jeff Daniels), and works nights as a bank janitor. This life is pretty routine until he meets classmate Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode) in a bar. Spargo takes a shine to Pratt and introduces him to the beautiful Luvlee (Isla Fisher) and the rest of his group. Pratt soon learns that his friendship was a set up to get inside and be able to rob the bank. As Pratt wrestles with the morality of this, he is also tempted by the power and status the money will get back into his ruined life.

Gordon Levitt shines with his portrayal of Pratt's frustration and confusion of not being able to function as he once did. He works splendidly off of the more laid back, however equally embittered by his disability, roommate played by Daniels. The human element of the movie, Pratt trying to gain his father's trust, forgiving himself for the accident, is what makes this movie so powerful. The action of the bank robbery and the chase for the money is like glittery decoration on a sturdy tree. It is pretty and distracting, but overall held up by a stronger base. Overall, this movie has the entertainment value of an action thriller as well as the thought behind a successful drama.