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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 10902
Released: August 14, 2007 |
| Our Price: $8.75 |
| Used Price: $1.29 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Acclaimed screenwriter Scott Frank (Out Of Sight and Get Shorty) makes a mind-blowing directorial debut in The Lookout, a gritty, high-tension crime thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (TV’s Third Rock From The Sun, Brick), Jeff Daniels (RV) and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers). Chris "Slapshot" Pratt (Gordon-Levitt), whose once-bright future has been dimmed by a severe head injury, is a night janitor at a bank. Lonely and frustrated, Chris falls prey to a con man’s seductive promise of romance and a better life, and agrees to help rob the bank where he works. Filled with heart-pounding action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a twist you’ll never see coming, The Lookout will grip you and never let go.
Description of The Lookout:
An unpredictable thriller, The Lookout stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, Mysterious Skin) as Chris, a young man who had everything ahead of him--until a car accident killed two of his friends and left him with brain damage. Now reduced to being a janitor at a bank, Chris struggles to maintain some semblance of order in his life. When a guy he meets at a bar turns out to be an old classmate, Chris succumbs to his flattery, not suspecting that the guy's intentions are criminal. The Lookout was probably sold as Memento meets Inside Man, but its rewards are more modest than either. Though the plot is never obvious, the characters are never surprising--and in this kind of thriller, the payoff is when characters exceed what they (and the audience) believe they are. Still, the writing, acting, and directing are all solid, and from moment to moment the movie proves compelling. Jeff Daniels (The Purple Rose of Cairo) is particularly good as Chris's blind roommate, who smells a rat but can't persuade Chris to do something about it. --Bret Fetzer
The Lookout Reviews:
A heist film with humanity 
2009-08-09 - With the rise of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, the ever popular crime and heist films genres have grown more outlandish, as seen in the baffling nightmare "Running Scared" and the out and out parodies of "Shoot `em Up" and the "Crank" films. Released into such a market, the contemplative "The Lookout" was likely doomed to a lukewarm public reception. Fortunately, DVD has been kind to many overlooked films, and hopefully "The Lookout" will find a second-life in the coming years. While few will find the hair-raising thriller they probably expected, "The Lookout" is one of the more engrossing and moving human dramas in recent memory, though given a crime/heist sheen that will make it palatable to testosterone-oriented audiences, like myself.
Though heist films most often hinge on labyrinthine plots, "The Lookout" is rooted in the terrific lead performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Long best known as "that one kid in the sitcom with aliens" (Third Rock From the Sun), Gordon-Levitt transitioned to film a few years ago and has earned surprising accolades. Though I can't speak for his work generally, his Chris Pratt is a remarkably sympatheic and compelling protagonist, and he gives the films a human quality rare to contemporary crime and heist films. The general story offers no great surprises, but the film's humanity makes the final result more personally moving than any elaborate plot machinations could.
We're first introduced to Chris Pratt as a teenager, where he's the quintessential promising youth, a Midwestern hockey star and the son of a well-to-do family. Whatever advantages Pratt had, however, he was not spared teen idiocy, which he uses in causing a senseless car crash which kills and cripples his friends while leaving Pratt with a severe head injury. We next see Pratt a half-decade later, where he struggles with impulse control, aphasia and a general inability to mentally organize his life. His previous dreams shattered, Pratt works alone as a bank's night janitor, and confides only in his blind ex-hippie roommate Lewis, (Jeff Daniels) and his case worker Janet (Carla Gugino). Pratt, though functioning (barely), hopes for more out of life, and soon meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), a shifty but sympathetic local character. Spargo is Pratt's only friend apart from Lewis, and the tie is cemented when Pratt falls for Spargo's friend Luvlee (Isla Fisher). Spargo's friendship is indeed superficial, as he eventually reveals his plan to rob Pratt's bank, with Pratt as the titular lookout. Though Pratt has no natural inclinations towards crime, he can't help but see this as an opportunity to escape his seemingly hopeless life, and, especially, to maintain a relationship with Luvlee.
In further contrast to conventional crime films, "The Lookout" has compactm limited form that makes it much more plausible and personal than other flims. Just as how the bank heist is not especially elaborate, neither are Pratt's motivations grandiose. He does not dream of wealth or a life of luxury, but wants an unassuming middle class life and some small sense of control over his destiny. He is not, however, a plaster saint: the terrible accident is wholly his fault, and Pratt can be quite cold or hostile towards those who would help him. Equally impressive is the cast of secondary characters, none of whom play as cliched crime films types. Goode, a Brit best known for playing cold and effete roles in "Match Point" and "Watchmen," creates a lively, surprisingly charismatic lowlife in Spargo, while Daniels adds a lot of humor and sympathy to Pratt's roomie Lewis in what could've been a throwaway role. The film handles the middle American characters with surprising care, portraying even the more dimwitted figures with realism and understanding. (I'm thinking particularly of Fisher's ex-stripper Luvlee and Di Zio's Deputy Ted, a local cop who checks in on Pratt in a manner both friendly and condescending.)
After an hour of background and character development, the standard plot machinations come into effect with the requisite action scenes, complications and betrayals. First-time director Frank uses an appropriately distant, icy look for a the frigid Midwestern setting, and the film wholly lacks the self-conscious stylization of most modern crime pics. (Those of you who hate shakycam and schizoid editing will prefer this to most contemporaries.) The actual heist elements are not especially stunning, but they provide punctuation to the inner struggles that consumed the rest of the film. "The Lookout", ultimately, is not really about the heist, but about Pratt's oppressive and monotonous day-to-day life and how we come to understand his desperate need to escape. The heist was not the best option, needless to say, but we can understand both how he could give into such temptations and his misgivings and second thoughts that play heavily into the actual robbery.
In the end the film is wrapped up in a rather clean, tight manner. This is a somewhat inappropriate, considering the sprawling, free-form nature of the early narrative. That said, it offers a certain satisfaction. In the real world the narrative would not likely resolve itself as it does in "The Lookout." But damned if we often don't wish that it would.
Grade: A-
Impressive first feature. Recommended. 
2009-06-18 - I would definitely recommend this film to those who're into intelligent 'crime' thrillers.
Sure there are certain elements within the screenplay that remind us of Nolan's "Memento", but that's where the comparison's end. "The Lookout" is shot and edited in a totally different fashion, with confident direction from Scott Frank which gives the film its own style and voice.
In my mind, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quickly becoming one of the more consistent & talented actors of his generation. You have to hand it to him, he has chosen his post-TV roles wisely, (it's clear he has a solid agent working for him).
Jeff Daniels delivers one of his most interesting performances to date; the guy owns it whenever he's on screen here.
Instant Neo-noir classic.
2009-06-09 - The Lookout is an instant Neo-noir classic. The kind of film that you can tell everyone involved took a full swing at in making. Career acting performances, haunting cinematography and a story that will stick with you for a while. A true diamond in the rough. Don't pass on this one!
Look Out For This Fantastic Heist Flick
2009-01-19 - The story follows a young man (played very well by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who after a horrific car accident loses some of his motor functions and his short-term memory. He was the star of the local hockey team, now he's just a dysfunctional young man who goes to a help center rather than college on a scholarship and works the graveyard shift as a janitor at a bank. He lives with a blind man (played brilliantly by Jeff Daniels) who was placed as his roommate by the center so they could help each other on a daily basis. The young man eventually gets caught up in a heist thought up by men who know he works at the bank. This is an excellent mystery and heist film. The entire cast is fantastic. Some of the memory plot points are slightly similar to Christopher Nolan's Memento, but beyond that this is an original and captivating film. Enjoy!
The Lookout be Brandon M. Moskos
2009-01-11 - One of my favorite movies of all-time. This is about a guy with a head injury from a car accident that gets lured into a bank heist. Joseph Lewitt is outstanding as the lead actor. This is not another cheesy bank heist movie, this movie has great acting and a great plot. You will enjoy it, a must for any serious dvd collection!!!
