The Old Man & the Gun

Starring: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, John David Washington, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Elisabeth Moss
Directed by: David Lowery
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A policeman (Casey Affleck) investigates a series of bank robberies masterminded by a 70 year-old man (Robert Redford).

Review:

Tim: The Old Man & the Gun was billed as Robert Redford's final starring role before his retirement from acting at age 82. If that ends up being the case, the movie is certainly noteworthy as the acting swan song of one of the all time greats. Redford gives a surprisingly energetic performance for an octogenarian. You can see his acting talent on display here. I wouldn't say I loved anything about David Lowery's movie, but this is an effective effort and a worthwhile movie.

The film is based on a true story, which always adds an interesting element to it. More accurately, the story is "inspired" by true life, as Lowery sets off to tell his fictionalized account that feels only loosely tied to actual events. The movie is short, at 1 hour, 33 minutes. It moves decently along, only dragging in a few places. For the most part, we're interested in these characters and in their story. We've seen movies like this before and although a few of the elements are different, the movie as a whole never feels especially unique. Still, this is a good movie.

Redford is definitely front and center here. He gets a lot of screen time in the lead role and he shows that he still has it. It was hard to believe he was over 80 years old while watching this movie. He still has a bit of youthful, mischievous energy. Combine that with the experience gained over a long and fruitful career, and you end up with an impressive performance. If I'm being candid here, a lot of times actors in the twilight of their careers don't give the best performances. Sure, their presence is a welcome one, but I can think of performances where it's obvious the actor is tired and has long since lost whatever it was that made them unique in the first place. Surprisingly, that isn't the case here. Redford's performance is so strong that it feels like he could act for another decade and give worthwhile performances. I'm honestly not sure how he has managed to fend off father time this long. It's remarkable. Watching him in this movie reminded me of how talented Redford is, and it also made me lament the loss of his ability on the screen. You never know if someone's acting retirement is legitimate or not, but it certainly seems that he has every intention of making this his final starring role. If that's the case, he ends his acting career on a high note. The movie itself might not be great, but his performance is better than anyone could have anticipated.

Casey Affleck gives a strong performance as well. I know he's had some personal issues in recent years and it certainly seems like he might not be the best human being, but you can't fault his acting ability. He has this quiet brilliance about him in front of the cameras and he brings that here. I was very glad he got a few scenes with Redford- it was wonderful to see these two men acting opposite each other. Affleck's performance is believable and he draws you into his character. The same can be said for Sissy Spacek. Spacek has always flown under the radar to me. I can't say I've ever loved her, but she continuously gives exceptionally strong performances. She does that again here. She never really grabs the limelight- there's not much left after Redford and Affleck. And yet, she is so instrumental to this film. She connects well with Redford. Their back-and-forth was one of the highlights of the film. This movie wouldn't have worked nearly as well without Spacek giving the right supporting performance. I want to specifically call her out because she deserves credit for helping this film to work.

The other supporting cast members are good, but they all feel underutilized. I loved seeing Danny Glover here, but I wish he had something more interesting to do. Tom Waits gets one really good scene where he can shine. I like Tika Sumpter and John David Washington, but they are an afterthought here. It was great seeing Elisabeth Moss, but she's so limited in what she can do with one scene. Still, as a whole, you have to applaud the cast assembled for this film.

I spent a lot of time talking about the cast because that's really the film's greatest strength. We get to see a bunch of talented actors play these meaty, memorable roles. The story around them never feels like it lives up to their greatness. We've seen a number of bank robber movies before and this movie doesn't quite add much in terms of anything new. It's certainly intriguing to see bank robberies pulled off by grandparents and Redford's character's charisma and politeness is a differentiator, but that only takes you so far. Director David Lowery's style certainly seems to be slow and methodical. I'm not convinced he has quite gotten the pacing thing done. It felt like this movie was an improvement over A Ghost Story, but I wish his movies had just a bit more urgency to them. The character development is strong, but his filmmaking approach makes even short movies feel longer than they are. When I think about this film, I think about Redford, Affleck, and Spacek. I don't really think about anything that Lowery did. The horse scene didn't really wow me. I guess if I had to pick something, the escape montage at the end was fairly impressive, especially the use of footage from The Chase, an early Robert Redford prison escape movie. I read somewhere that Lowery said he wasn't excited about making a bank robber movie, he was excited about making a Robert Redford movie. It seems to me that the movie would have been better had Lowery been more excited about the story around his star.

The Old Man & the Gun might have some flaws, but it's an effective, entertaining movie. It was refreshing to see a movie like this that focused so much on character development. I enjoyed this film and I believe it's a fitting send off for Redford as an actor.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Ghost Story, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, The Chase, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid