Acting is a profession in which ‘never say never’ applies in many cases. Yet, if we are to believe the intentions publicly stated in August 2018, David Lowery‘s ‘The Old Man & the Gun‘ will be Robert Redford‘s last film as actor. It’s a good reason to watch this movie. Unfortunately, it’s also the main reason.
I confess that I am not a great fan of the of ‘true crime’ genre. I’m not a big fan of gangsters or bank robbers either. Not only that I do not consider them a role model, but I do not even think that most of them were or are very interesting people in reality, as they appear in the movies or books they inspire. It’s maybe one of the reasons why ‘The Old Man & the Gun‘ did not excite me. The film presents the end of the career of a bank robber named Forrest Tucker (played by Robert Redford), famous for never using the gun with which he threatens his victims, and for the 16 (in the movie or maybe 18 according to Wikipedia) escapes from prison. However, the escapes are just listed in one scene, they are not the topics of the film. What we are witnessing are some of his latest ‘professional activities’, the not so interesting investigation that led to his capture and his last sentimental adventure.
The action takes place in Texas in the 1980s, shortly before the installation of the cameras that would make Forrest Tucker’s job much harder today. A part of the film’s charm is the rendition of the atmosphere of those innocent times when people were smoking freely in restaurants, and the bank robbers did not have to worry about security cameras in banks and streets or about facial recognition technology. Director David Lowery (also responsible for another film that I did not like – ‘Ghost’) created all the premises for Robert Redford to look good in this film, including some memorable frames in which he seems to say goodbye to his fans. His romantic partner is the charming Sissy Spacek, who also shows us how beautiful a woman can be close to the age of 70. Even though the script and the director made the law-breaking hero a much more interesting character than the cop who chases him, I appreciated Casey Affleck‘s acting (btw, he is my favorite among the two brother actors). Otherwise, the story is quite trivial. The overall impression – sweet and banal. Robert Redford played many memorable roles in his career, besides being an exceptional producer, cultural animator and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. This is not one of the most interesting. But he still has time to change his mind and come back.