About two years ago, we wrote in these pages that you might want to see an Argentine film called Nine Queens before it got re-made, and perhaps ruined, by Hollywood.
Too late.
The remake, which opens today, is called Criminal, with John C. Reilly, Diego Luna and Maggie Gyllenhaal. There's nothing really wrong with Criminal, except, as we all know, comparisons are simply not on. If you want to see a terrific film about grifters and scams, rent Nine Queens.
If you intend to see Criminal, read on.
Criminal is set in Los Angeles, over a 24-hour period. At a casino, a young man named Rodrigo (Diego Luna) swindles a couple of cocktail waitresses. An older guy, Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) observes and then asks the young con artist to be his partner. Rodrigo doesn't really trust Richard, but he needs the money.
Richard's sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal) tells him to come to the hotel where she works. She wants Richard to retrieve yet another con artist, an old guy who is sick. This old guy is a forger, and he has a rare silver certificate -- forged, natch -- to sell to a dupe (Peter Mullen).
Richard and Rodrigo agree to be part of this grand scheme, but have to negotiate their way through a minefield of bad luck, bad timing and other bad guys to do it.
Criminal is a scam inside a sting within a con, and all of it wrapped in a double (or triple?) cross. The performances are complex and tricky, for some of the actors have roles within roles, and not everybody is fully convincing. That's all we can say without spoiling the plot.
Criminal -- as is Nine Queens -- is a performance piece, and as such is not the type of movie Hollywood does best. You can't go too far wrong on the performance front with John C. Reilly, Diego Luna or Maggie Gyllenhaal, but this one never really goes above average.
Still, the film is laced with dark humour and several excellent crime tips -- such as: It's important to look like a nice guy if you intend to swindle people. Duly noted.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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