Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Focus" is an American 100-minute movie from 2015, so by now it is two years old. It was written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, a duo of filmmakers that has collaborated for a really long time and this resulted in some good and some not so good works apparently. I guess this one here is somewhere in-between, maybe closer to the not so good. It features Will Smith and Margot Robbie as the lead actors and while both are really big names, I still don't see that great talent in both of them, especially Robbie. They aren't bad actors, but they are also far from convincing unfortunately when their characters require true range and depth and they can only partially may make up for these shortcoming with their great deal of charisma. Then again, they fit nicely in here because this movie (and the script in particular) are also about make-believe. The two filmmakers I mentioned earlier definitely need a lesson in subtlety. There are many many scenes and moments, and eventually the entire film, where they go way over the top and not in a good way at all. The first meeting between the two protagonists is a good example. Yes they want to depict that teacher-student relationship and show us how skilled Smith is, but all those tricks, all that he steals from her is just too much. Half of the items would really have been enough. This is a bit of shame as the "angry boyfriend" scene before that was actually not too bad. And there are more food scenes like the one with BD Wong (he gave a nice supporting performance and is probably among Asia's best in Hollywood right now), which was somewhat fun to see and the best thing is you don't even have to care about American Football to appreciate it because I sure don't. But these bright moments are quickly made up for and the negative element wins eventually. It's all so pompous, pseudo-intelligent and exaggerated that it's almost impossible to appreciate the film as a whole. Robbie and Smith are just means for the story and they also do not manage to elevate the script. The weakest moment of the film is probably the ending. I was tempted to give it a better rating before that final scene with Smith's character's father, but lets be honest here. A dad who shoots his brother in the chest (even with the medical justification) is just too much and this is where the film really loses it all and hits rock-bottom. I guess you can check this one out if you really care a lot about the world of con men, but it is still not a satisfying take and elaboration on the subject either. So maybe only check it out if you are a huge Smith and/or Robbie fan. Otherwise skip it and you are not missing much, especially not in terms of realism and fraud as the biggest trick pulled off in here was to make audiences believe this is actually a convincing work. Thumbs down.
