Joseph Gordon-Levitt & and Matthew Goode

Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt of Brick) is the high school jock who has it all, and then suddenly has nothing. He’s a senior and a hockey star, out for a nighttime joy ride in his convertible, with the prettiest girl in school and his best buddy. A great time turns into a nightmare when Chris’s senseless act causes a tragic accident that ends the lives of two of his friends, causes serious injury to his girlfriend, and he suffers severe head trauma.    

Chris’s girlfriend labors through rehab and seems to be getting on with her life. But Chris is unable to approach her, even to apologize. He has memory loss that is so profound that he must write everything down to be able to function at a minimal level. He is in a life skills program and has an assigned housemate, Lewis (Jeff Daniels, Good Night and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale), to help ease his transition back to normalcy. Lewis is blind but is self-sufficient, and holds a full time job as the voice you hear when you order flowers by phone.  

In his job as the nighttime janitor at the local bank, Chris does well. He wants to be a teller, and the head teller, who sees his potential, is helping him to prepare for that opportunity. Other than his caseworker (Carla Gugino of Sin City) and his roommate Lewis, almost everyone else, including his parents, treats him in a condescending manner. 

Chris runs into Gary (Matthew Goode of Match Point), a former high school classmate, in a bar and he talks to Chris like they’re old pals.  He keeps reminding Chris that whoever who has the money has the power. When Gary introduces Chris to Luvlee Lemons (Isla Fisher of Wedding Crashers) he starts to think that things are looking up because she is kind to him and they have sex. This sparks feelings in Chris of his glory days. The catch is that she is a Trojan horse sent by conman and aspiring bank robber Gary.  Although Lewis is legally blind, he sees that there’s something shifty about Chris’s new friends.  

Gary convinces Chris that if he is the lookout when Gary and his friends rob Chris’s bank, his payday for helping will put him over the top, because of the power that money brings.   

The fact that the movie operates on two levels is what makes it so exceptional. Writer and director Scott Frank also wrote the screenplays for Out of Sight and Get Shorty, which were adapted from Elmore Leonard novels. The Lookout is cut from the same textured fabric, and fashioned for great style. It also reminded us of Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan, where all goes awry. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is constantly on screen, delivers an intense and nuanced performance that gives us a thriller on one hand and a story of redemption on the other.   

The supporting cast is excellent. Jeff Daniels is one of our favorite actors, capable of portraying a range of characters, from open and direct to complex. And the donut-loving deputy that patrols the town of Noel at night and checks in on Chris reminds us of the icy edged innocence of Frances McDormand in the film Fargo. 

Check out this well done twisted tale with its noirish look and interestingly prickly feel.