The Old Man & The Gun

Some actors just have it. That special thing. That magic quality that glues your eyes to them the moment they appear on screen. The ability to make you fall for them even when they are up to no good. That actorly magic spills off the screen when Robert Redford appears in The Old Man & The Gun. He announced he was retiring earlier this year and that this was to be his last screen appearance. At the age of 82 and with 48 films and 10 directing credits under his belt he's certainly earned his rest but his gain will be our loss. He's amazing in this film and it's a timely reminder of the low key brilliance he's brought to cinema since 1960.

Forrest Tucker is a man in love with the thrill of the heist. He's also an absolute charmer. A man capable of robbing a bank with a few quiet words and a smile or two. His entire life has consisted of crime sprees between spells in jail and as such he drifts around, his life revolving around him and his gang's next job. A chance occurance with a woman called Jewel (Sissy Spacek) causes him to start re-evaluating his lot in life but when he pops up on the radar of a determined detective named John Hunt (Casey Affleck) it gives him more than a little buzz.

I loved this. It's not perfect but it gets damn close. It's a magnificent swansong of a career other actors would sell their souls for. It's the gentlest, most elegant movie about bank robbing you'll ever see. It's pure entertainment. You'll be smiling or grinning from ear to ear for the vast majority of the story and for the rest you'll be stressed because Redford's Forrest is a bank robber you actually want to see succeed, he is such a charming bastard you'll want to see him and his buddies giving the cops the run around. But its based on a true story and true stories tend not to end the way you want them to but here the pleasure is in the journey. And what a journey, full of moments harking back to Redford's heyday with one scene in particular, late in the film harking back to the film that made him famous.

Age is a huge theme in the story. Forrest living like there's no tomorrow because in his line of work and at his age there might not well be, the camera in his face all the time, wrinkles and gray hair in all it's glory, but still with a wicked twinkle in his eye. John Hunt, the man on his trail, half Forrest's age but already beaten down by life, stress hanging around him like a dark cloud. It's nearly a relief when his work starts to reinvigorate him. Spacek too, aging like fine wine, her character Jewel had just about settled into old age when a chance encounter on a roadside brings a chance at love back into her life. Her and Forrest's first chat over a cup of coffee is a beautiful moment. We rarely get to see people of this vintage have romantic encounters onscreen so it's a scene to savour and her and Redford just make it look so effortless. Carrie White and The Sundance Kid, flirtin' it up.

Redford, Spacek and Affleck all do stellar work. Around them is a fantastic supporting cast but annoyingly they barely get a look in. Danny Glover gets a handful of lines in his part as Teddy Green, the getaway driver. John David Washington is barely glimpsed as Hunt's partner Kelley and David Carradine appears for maybe 30 seconds as a police captain. Tom Wait's Waller gets a fun monologue in a bar and Elisabeth Moss as a remnant of Forrest's wayward ways does get an affecting cameo but the film is really all about two driven men, one on either side of the law. And there's no doubting where director David Lowery wants our sympathies to lie. In other hands this could be troubling but here Redford's charm offensive blows all that away.

A lovely movie, one that looks and feels like it was made in an earlier age. If you want something to relax into and truly enjoy this is for you. Plus it may be the last chance you ever get to see the Golden Boy of 70's cinema on the big screen. If he does decide to stick to his decision he'll be truly missed.