Truly Dreadful Film

Thanks for the memories!

Strong and Moving!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Meh. That's the word I want to use when I think of an overall impression of Life of Crime. Released in 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival, Life of Crime is an independent crime-comedy film directed by Daniel Schechter. Although it's classified as such, I did not find myself experiencing any kind of laughter. The writing, also done by Schechter and Elmore Leonard, is lackluster with little comedy. So….meh. Ex-convict Ordell Robbie (Yasiin Bey) persuades Louis Gara (John Hawkes) to partner with him and the Nazi-supporter Richard (Mark Boone Jr) to pull off the kidnapping of Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Anniston). The kidnappers plan to demand a one million dollar ransom from Mickey's husband, Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins), who has been keeping some excessive assets in a bank account kept secret from his wife. However, Ordell hasn't done enough research and fails to realize that the Dawson marriage is in shambles. Mickey appears to be lingering on the thought of having an affair with one of Frank's friends, Marshall Taylor (Will Forte); she is getting fed up with her abusive husband. Meanwhile, Frank is already fed up with Mickey, and on the cusp of filing for divorce. When Ordell and Louis come to abduct Mickey, they are surprised to find Marshall arriving at the house to pay her a visit – so they knock him out and leave him in the closet. However, the pair come to find out that Marshall is just a molehill…the mountain comes when Frank refuses to pay the ransom. I had several problems with this film; but let's begin with the writing of the characters. First of all, there were exactly two people with any sort of moral compass: Louis and Mickey. The other characters were morally disgusting, and not in the amusing way that Heath Ledger's Joker was. Although he was kidnapping a woman, Louis did show remorse and also protected Mickey from the cruel intentions of his cohorts. Mickey is ever the sweet and innocent victim in both her marriage and her kidnapping. Life of Crime is one of those flicks that shows the story through the views of the heroine and the villain(s) equally. The benefit of this type of film is that the villain has the chance to make the audience sympathetic for him or her. Life of Crime does not take advantage of this. The audience is given no information about the past of the kidnappers, and thus their actions are just black and white – there is no morally gray area. We aren't even told what the partners need the money for! The only characters we get any back story on are Mickey and Frank; but even that back story is wanting. There is some good character development in Mickey, but overall the characters in this film lack depth.Despite the problems with the actual characters, the acting in this film is just satisfactory; only one actor stands out in this film as more than that. Boone does a great portrayal of Richard (I always feel awkward when complimenting an actor on playing a horrifying character well!). Richard is clearly meant to be the truly terrible member of the kidnapping team, with all his Nazi paraphernalia and his aggressive attitude. There are even a few moments where Boone appears to be more of a literal beast than a man. Boone turns Richard into massive and terrifying villain – the kind you want to see burn. This movie could have been so much more. The plot is an interesting and original idea, but the opportunity goes to waste under the writing and direction. Also, there are a few plot holes that the audience gets stuck on. Overall, the film is unengaging and a total miss.

Serio-comic adaptation of Elmore Leonard's crime novel "The Switch" features a scenario that is well played-out by now: unhappily married woman, whose wealthy husband is a cheat and a swindler, is kidnapped by amateurs who ask for a million dollars in ransom; her husband, being a heartless snake with no morals, is reluctant to pay it. Well-cast but rather ungainly production, with both a direction and screenplay by Daniel Schechter that weaken as the film progresses, leading to an uninteresting final act. Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins are excellent as the couple in question, but Will Forte is wasted as a weak-kneed Lothario and Eric Alan Edwards' cinematography is disappointing, with cheap green-screen shots that give the picture a TV-movie feel. ** from ****

Before watching this, I had no idea this had any relationship to Jackie Brown (I didn't look into the origin of the story/novel this was based on), so fortunately for me, I didn't have anything in mind or tried to compare the two with each other (or the movie with the original novel for that matter).We do get a light fun comedy caper, that is predictable to a point. But still fun to watch. It might not be the best movie in that genre, but the characters are nicely written (obviously considering the origin) and the actors have fun playing in it, which shows on screen. The novel might be a bit of a give away, but I did not see that end coming. And I did like it very much

Based on late Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch, 'Life of Crime' is an interesting watch, that is funny & finely acted, too! But the slow-pace, makes you feel restless at times. 'Life of Crime' Synopsis: Two common criminals get more than they bargained for after kidnapping the wife of a corrupt real-estate developer who shows no interest in paying the $1 million dollar ransom for her safe return.'Life of Crime', at 99-minutes delivers a story of crime & deception, admirably. But, as I mentioned before, the slow-pace gets to you after a point. Right after the kidnapping incident, one expects the pace to get faster, but it doesn't. Fortunately, the final act picks up momentum. But better pacing was the need of the day! Daniel Schechter's Adapted Screenplay has merit & the dialogue, are wonderful. Schechter's Direction is neat, as well. Cinematography is standard. Editing is the weakest link of the enterprise. 'Life of Crime' would've fallen flat had its casting not been right, but over here, each & every actor is perfectly cast. John Hawkes continues to perform brilliantly. Tim Robbins is tremendously despicable, enacting a moron to perfection. Jennifer Aniston is good, but looks aged here. Isla Fisher is first-rate. Will Forte is excellent. Mos Def is superb. Mark Boone. Jr impresses, as well. On the whole, 'Life of Crime' gets some things right, not all. Watch it if you must!