“The Old Man And The Gun”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times ScreenTimes screening of the new crime drama “The Old Man And The Gun”, starring Robert Redford, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. 

Synopsis

When an elderly man escapes from San Quentin and resumes his career as a bank robber, will he succeed or return to prison?

Story

Forrest Tucker (Redford) has lived outside the law since childhood and has suffered the consequences for it, being institutionalized many times.  The funny thing, though, is that every time he was locked up, he somehow managed to escape, so he never fully did his time.  Whenever he got out, he would return to doing what he knew deep down in his heart what he did the best and loved the most:  robbing banks.  After his most recent escape, he winds up in Texas of the 1980’s and goes back to being a bank robber – even though he is now in his seventies.

Following his latest heist, Tucker finds himself being chased by the local police as he heads to Dallas.  On the way, however, he makes the time to help out Jewel (Spacek), a damsel in distress.  Her truck broke down and she’s on the shoulder of the highway trying to see if she can fix it and be on her way.  Tucker generously offers to drive her into town to get a mechanic – which works out quite well for him as it also aids in his being able to elude the police (at least for the time being).  Once in town, Tucker takes Jewel for a cup of coffee; the two quickly hit it off and develop a close friendship.

Meanwhile, there is a rash of bank robberies not only throughout Texas but also other states in the south – all of which have been performed by Tucker, and occasionally, with his gang, such as it is (Danny Glover, Tom Waits).  Since some of these robberies have occurred in the Dallas area, that’s where John Hunt (Affleck) comes in.  A Detective in the Dallas Police Department, Hunt investigates the string of bank robberies in order to see if he can find a pattern in order to solve the crimes.  Eventually, his investigation leads to a major clue that might help him crack the case.  Will Tucker wind up going back to prison one more time or can he keep the police away?    

Review

If you think that the only reason to see “The Old Man And The Gun” is because it will likely be Robert Redford’s last movie as an actor, then you’re wrong.  You should see it because it’s so damned entertaining.  Based on a true story (from an article that appeared in The New Yorker magazine), writer/director David Lowery has done a wonderful job of crafting a cleverly told, multi-layered story that will keep you in rapt attention from beginning to end as it’s next steps are so incredibly unpredictable.  This is a motion picture that’s worth the effort of seeing in a theater. 

The cast of “The Old Man And The Gun” is remarkable on its own; both individually and collectively, they do an excellent job – this includes singer Tom Waits who, in his rather small role as one of Tucker’s henchmen, is quite funny.  Given the extensive and varied career of both Redford and Spacek, it is hard to believe that “The Old Man And The Gun” marks the first time these two actors have worked together; as it turns out, it was well worth the wait.  The two are an utter delight to watch in their scenes together and appear to have an outstanding chemistry. 

In his screenplay, Lowery has wisely made this into something of a mystery in the sense that like Jewel, we only learn Tucker’s real story over the course of the film.  Lowery’s story telling style is parsimonious in that he only tells you what you need to know in that very moment and nothing more.  If you want to acquire more information about these characters – and especially Tucker himself – then you’ll just have to hold on and go for the ride.  And what a ride it is!  Basically, the theme of the story is that no matter how old you may be chronologically, you stay young by doing what you love most.