CRIMINAL

An enjoyable caper film that makes for nicely breezy viewing.

Whenever I watch a film about con artists, I always find myself scrutinizing the action for clues to any cons beneath the cons going on. Often, I find them…or think I do…and such was the case with this 2004 American remake of the Argentinian film Nine Queens, which has so many sub-cons going on you almost need a scorecard to keep track of who’s zooming whom.

Writer-director Gregory Jacobs crafts a neat and tidy film around two equally money-hungry grifters, Richard (John C. Reilly) and Rodrigo (Diego Luna), who meet during a scam gone awry and decide to join forces for a much bigger score. Richard is an L.A. veteran of the game, and he agrees to take relative newcomer Rodrigo (whom he renames “Brian” to Anglo-fy him) under his sage wing of corruption to show him the ropes. Together, they set their sights on a wealthy currency collector named William Hannigan (Peter Mullan), whom they hope will pay big money for a forgery of a rare bill. Reluctantly aiding them in their dodgy dealings is Richard’s none-too-pleased sister, Valerie (the offensively underused Maggie Gyllenhaal), who works in the hotel housing Hannigan and who’s also locked in a bitter legal battle with her big brother over their family’s estate.

What unfolds is a fairly sharp story that clips along at a brisk pace. Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, the film doesn’t waste any time or linger on unnecessary details, extraneous characters or self-congratulatory cinematography. Like the cons being executed onscreen, Criminal keeps the proceedings light, efficient and professional.

But that same efficiency left me wanting more. For starters, Maggie Gyllenhaal gets all of 15 minutes of screen time, max. (And, thanks to some poorly edited previews and trailers, a key plot point involving her character was obvious to me long before I sat down to watch the movie.) Yes, I’m biased where Maggie’s concerned, but still. Her character is relegated to striding through the hotel scowling, while working the hell out of her pumps and power suits. If you’re going to cast a known actress in a role like that, why not expand it a bit, even that might diverge from the plot of the original film?

The family dynamic between Richard, Valerie and their younger brother Michael (who also works at the hotel) was never really clear, either. The gist of their feud has something to do with Richard being a selfish ass, but the interrelationships between the three could have been spelled out a bit better, thereby enhancing the friction that’s supposed to be evident between Richard and Valerie…which, in turn, would add to the tension as they’re forced to work together.

The DVD "extras" were also sorely lacking. The only bonus material featured on the disc is the theatrical trailer. Oh, and multi-language subtitles. Where's the commentary? Where's the "making of" featurette? Random stills? The full-length "Salute to Maggie Gyllenhaal!" that was more than deserved?? Alas, no. Just the movie. *sigh*

That said, Criminal remains an enjoyable caper film that makes for nicely breezy viewing. Its story is crisp, its execution is economical but still entertaining and its performances – save for Maggie’s comparatively deficient amount of screen time – are solid, with Mullan’s mildly skeevy collector a subtle standout.