Cage cons in Matchstick Men

Nicholas Cage stars as Roy Wallace, a paranoid con artist who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, in the movie “Matchstick Men.” The condition Roy suffers from offers much of the humor. The opening scene is Roy getting ready for the day. Roy counts to three before everything he does. Roy’s character evokes sympathy and questions. All through the movie you are rooting for Roy to get away with things even though he is the bad guy. Roy is sympathetic because he is sort of a loner because of his OCD and has just found his daughter.

Along with his partner, Frank (Sam Rockwell), Roy swindles many people out of their money by posing as salesmen promoting a fake contest. As the partners are in the middle of planning a daring con, Roy gets in touch with his long lost 14 year-old daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman).

Angela wants to learn the art of conning so her dad teaches her in a scheme involving a lottery ticket. This scene is the best in the whole movie. Although it is an uncomfortable thought that a dad would teach his daughter how to con, the bonding that occurs between Angela and her father is remarkable and very real. While an underlying theme in the movie is that of the importance of the father/daughter relationship, the focus of the film is an intimate look into the life of a con artist.

The plot is lively but at times it seems to be very close to other movies such as “Catch Me If You Can” and “As Good As It Gets.” The movie holds its own at the end with a surprise twist. The suspense of “Matchstick Men” is entertaining, making the movie very easy to watch, though it is something viewers must pay attention to. The look in to the life of the con artist is very real. More focus is put on the characters’ personalities and relationships than the action, which makes viewers feel as if you know the characters personally.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 1 2004. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry