Focus

Dir: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

2015

***

There is a certain quirkiness to Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's films that I really do love. Their writing credits are impressive but their directional debut I Love You Phillip Morris  was a lovely romance that took place in an environment and genre where you wouldn't expect it. It swam up stream which I liked but sadly, it was let down by poor casting in my opinion. The follow up, Crazy, Stupid, Love, was a rom-com that at last most guys could also enjoy (I don't like the term 'chick-flick and I refuse to use it). Both films had a fantasy tone about them that I can't quite put my finger on, 2015's Focus is in much the same style. It's great to see a heist movie with a strong romantic story-line that doesn't just consist of one-liners, fast cars and smug faces. Will Smith and Margot Robbie are totally believable in their characters and in their relationship with each other. It's easy to see two ridiculously good-looking mega-stars and loose interest but I thought they were both compelling and convincing and I wanted them to get together, just like in Ficarra and Requa's previous films. They clearly get the best from their cast (and I can almost forgive them for casting Jim Carrey). The start of the film builds into quite a compelling romantic thriller, B.D. Wong's performance half-way through the movie gives it a little extra kick and I loved the conclusion but unfortunately it has a habit of sagging slightly in-between. There a couple of directorial tricks used that almost ruined it for me though, one in particular first used by Hitchcock and quickly denounced by him and declared one of the biggest mistakes of his career. A heist film must carry itself with clever but realistic writing, you cannot cheat, but unfortunately Focus does. However, it doesn't ruin the film, I didn't see the twist coming and aside from that, the characters were interesting enough and the script was refreshingly natural as well as being a little zesty. I really liked it but there is just that certain something about it that didn't work for me, a strong three star film and still miles better than most of the genre. I could write something witty along the lines of 'Ultimately the film looses Focus...' but I'm not going to as that would be unfair and a cheap shot, there is something original and fresh about it that deserves credit.