This wasn't at all what I was expecting. When I heard the title and saw the cast and watched the opening scene, which introduces us to these three characters via tracking shots and split screens, I anticipated a heist movie with energy and pizzazz. Or at least something that gets into the craft and showmanship of grifting (can you tell I'm a fan of Ocean's Eleven?). But what I got instead was a downbeat neo-noir, one that lands somewhere between pulp pastiche and bleak character study.
That's not a bad thing, for the record. I generally like being surprised. And even if the vibes of this one are still undeniably strange (the tone, dialogue, and score feel slightly "off", and that's before we get to the incest), causing me to spend a decent chunk of the runtime wondering what the hell I was watching, there's nevertheless a dark nastiness to the mood and plot that I found somewhat intoxicating after a while - to the point where Stephen Frears's Oscar nomination started making sense to me (and the same goes for Huston and Bening, who both nail their tricky characters).
Certain movies tend to work better in the rear view than in real time. It's probably too early to make that judgment call with this one, but I can tell you that my thoughts on it are much more positive now than they were during the actual viewing.
Grade: B+
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