.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

I did something I hate to do before going to a screening. I read and listened to other reviews on the film I was about to divulge myself in. As critics, we hate to hear other opinions before our viewing because we have a tendency to sometimes be influenced by others. If, for instance, 80% of critics are giving a film a recommendation, you almost feel like you are not one of the gang if you are not 'getting it' during your viewing. Therefore, we appreciate the opportunity to watch a film without influence from others on whether the film is widely acceptable and valued.

But I just couldn't help myself when it came to the new thriller, The Lookout.

It all started with the television ads that hailed the film as "Original" and "A Masterpiece". Then I got caught in the Richard Roper web of watching his program and hearing him thrust out praises on the film commenting that it was the biggest and best surprise he has had since Memento. I was hooked and soon I was reading as much as I could about the film from any media outlet that was providing early reviews.

I have to admit therefore that I went to the theatre on the day of the film's release with a preconceived notion that I should enjoy the film if I was in any way among the norm of my peers. But I was also well aware that having this idea in my head also worked against the film as I sat back and almost dared the film to make good on the praises that I had been hearing so frequently in the pre-release week.

The Lookout ended up being everything that I had read, heard and ultimately wanted it to be. It was a smart, well made thriller that reminded me of A Simple Plan while offering a bit of Memento in to up the ante.

The film is centered around Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt seen last year in Brick), a former high school sports star who in the films opening sequence is in a car accident that leaves two of his three passengers dead and Chris with the loss of his short term memory. Chris therefore is dependent on pills, a notepad kept in his back pocket which reminds him how to do the most simplistic of tasks, and his best friend and roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels) who is also challenged due to an accident that left him blind as a young adult.

Chris's life has become that of routine. He gets up, follows his notes, and then goes to work where he is the floor cleaner at the town bank. It is a menial job that leaves Chris with little in the way of responsibility and his almost childlike nature and mindset, allows the bank manager the peace of mind to leave Chris overnight in the bank with nothing more than a few visits from a local police officer to check up on him and offer him conversation.

Chris's life changes for what looks to be the better when he meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode) at the local watering hole. Gary befriends Chris claiming to once be an admirer of the life to which Chris once owned and enjoyed. Gary comes across as genuine - even more so when Gary introduces Chris to Luvlee (Isla Fisher from The Wedding Crashers) and the two soon are frolicking naked together.

But (cue the ominous music), things take a turn. Gary it would seem is not the nice guy he first projected but rather a thief that is using Chris and his childlike state in an effort to gain access to the bank vault to which he works. Gary is convincing at first Chris falls hard for the new friends that were so quick to accept him. But when Chris' morals click in and he tries to back out of the heist, he ends up being forced at gunpoint to be the Lookout during the robbery and possibly even the patsy when the criminals are clear with the loot.

The Lookout is an exceptional movie that engrosses the viewer so much that you don't even care to try and be a step ahead of the complicated but linear script. The taunt 99 minute running time goes by in a flash and the characters are so believable that you quickly get lost immersed in Chris' plight almost wanting to cheer when certain developments in the plot start to fall his way towards the final chapters.

The Lookout might not have staying power at the boxoffice. It doesn't house any A-List stars and it almost has an independent feel to the film. However, it packs the punch and don't be surprised if this sneaks on to a couple of critic's Best Of 2007 lists once December rolls around.