Matchstick Men

Released 2003
Stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce Altman, Bruce McGill
Directed by Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott's "Matchstick Men" tells three stories, each one intriguing enough to supply a movie. It is: (1) the story of a crisis in the life of a man crippled by neurotic obsessions; (2) the story of two con men who happen onto a big score, and (3) the story of a man who meets the teenage daughter he never knew he had, and finds himself trying to care for her. The hero of all three stories is Roy (Nicolas Cage), who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, panic attacks, you name it. His con-man partner is Frank (Sam Rockwell). His daughter is Angela (Alison Lohman), and Roy is so fearful that when he decides to contact her, he persuades his shrink to make the phone call.

I wish that you had seen the movie so we could discuss what a sublime job it does of doing full justice to all three of these stories, which add up to more, or perhaps less, than the sum of their parts. The screenplay for "Matchstick Men" is an achievement of Oscar calibre -- so absorbing that whenever it cuts away from "the plot," there is another, better plot to cut to. Brothers Ted and Nicholas Griffin adapted it from the novel by Eric Garcia. Cage bought the movie rights before it was published, and no wonder, because the character of Roy is one of the great roles of recent years; he's a nut case, a clever crook and a father who learns to love, all in one. Cage effortlessly plays these three sides to his character, which by their nature would seem to be in conflict.

Summary by Roger Ebert

Nick Cage is fun to watch in this role with all of his tics and nervous energy, and the movie has a good story. I liked how it was more than just a con, with his character reaching a couple of crossroads in his life. The relationship between him and his "daughter" is sweet and funny, and I never suspected she was in on it. Every con movie has to have a double-con, so I expected Roy and Frank to be conned. I didn't expect something so elaborate, but the con wasn't that important. The heart of the movie was Roy conquering his phobias, and the whole thing is fun. The movie forces the point a little too hard that it's his guilt that caused his problems, and I suppose the book does a better job of laying the groundwork for that than the movie. The other criticism I had was Roy giving up his code at the end. I felt it was a cheat, because I didn't understand why it would have helped her get through customs with over a million bucks in cash. She had the money from the dog which would have gotten her far enough, and he could have gotten her what she needed later even if he went to prison. So there was a little cheat, but it supported his justification that he never stole anyone's money. They gave it to him, just as he gave it to Angela. --Bill Alward, April 23, 2004