Focus (2015) Full Movie
In the midst of veteran con man Nicky's latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans for a loop.
Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Writers : Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Stars : Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro
Storyline
Nicky Spurgeon is an extremely accomplished con man who takes an amateur con artist, Jess, under his wing. Nicky and Jess become romantically involved, and with Nicky's profession of being a liar and a cheater for a living, he realizes that deception and love are things that don't go together. They split, only to see each other three years later... And things get messy.
Reviews
This Warner Brothers film is about cons and grifters. The central plot of the story revolves around the relationship between two con- artists.
Film opens with some nice music that conjures up a seventies feel to this film which has in fact a modern-day setting. Music is in fact used cleverly throughout the film. The opening scenes are good and show Australian actress Margot Robbie playing Jess, a street-hustler exponent of the short-con. She meets Will Smith, whose character Nick, is a more accomplished con-artist.
Thus, this is rather like the staple plot-line in the BBC TV series 'Hustle', in which a short-con artist seeks employment with a troupe of long-con specialists.
The initial meeting of the two con-artists is clever and entertaining. We then encounter a team of grifters in some early scenes that reminded this reviewer very much of 'Harry in Your Pocket' (1973). Though the scenes here in 'Focus' are more glamourized.
Fans of the BBC's 'Hustle' will know that it breaks the fourth wall. Often. Young hustler Danny Blue is always willing to challenge established Mickey Bricks, and is also always willing to engage in a bit of romance on the job. However in that show, romance is firmly frowned upon, as it may damage group-cohesion. In 'Focus' though, this is the central part of the plot. The central question is thus: Can con-artists fall in love, or is it always part of the con? Can you, in essence, ever trust a conman?
There are some good performances from the supporting cast. This reviewer thought that were particularly strong performances delivered by Robert Taylor playing the Australian McEwen, Adrian Martinez and Brennan Brown as two of the troupe of con-artists, and Griff Furst and Gerald McRaney playing the roles of rather unpleasant employees.
.jpg)
