Smith and Robbie shine in ‘Focus’
Print Edition
IF the mark of a good con artist is that he or she makes you think you know exactly what’s going on — when of course you haven’t a clue — that’s also the mark of a good con-artist movie, isn’t it?
To make you feel like you totally get what’s about to happen — “Oh yeah, I’ve seen this in tons of movies,” you think — and then, boom. That’s not what happens at all. See, you lost your focus for a second.
“It’s about distraction,” explains Nicky, the con artist played by Will Smith in “Focus,” an entertaining film by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. And that’s what the filmmakers do to us, too — they distract us more than once by making us think we’re watching a predictable, even silly story. We’re lured into feeling smarter than the movie — until we’re not. Damn! How did we miss that?
Of course, deft plot twists aren’t enough. A con-artist movie has to make you find something sympathetic in the artist. And here, the film centers on a romance, so we need to be able to invest in that as well. Luckily, Smith and relative newcomer Margot Robbie generate believable heat together while also appealing to us individually, and so we care what happens to them — even as we keep changing our minds as to which one we should care about most.
Smith’s Nicky and Robbie’s Jess meet in New York, where Jess is trying to escape from a creepy guy at the bar. They end up in Jess’ hotel room, where suddenly they’re caught in the act by Jess’ jealous, gun-toting “husband.” Only, Nicky figures out it’s a scam. Jess realizes she’s met a real pro. “Tutor me,” she pleads.
Everything goes swimmingly for the two — and they’re falling for each other, besides. But romance is a tricky thing when you’re a lifelong trickster. That becomes clear when, in one of the film’s most entertaining scenes, Nicky has to keep Jess in the dark as it appears that he’s totally self-destructing. You can’t show all your cards, even to the person you love. The person you maybe love, and who maybe loves you. Unless you’re playing them, or they’re playing you.
As the plot twists and turns, it’s best to stop wondering who’s doing what to whom and just, er, focus on watching Smith, wily and vulnerable at the same time, match wits with Robbie, who makes a case for more leading roles. It would be fun to watch these two together again. Maybe a sequel called “Re-focus?”
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