'Matchstick Men' review

Originally written the week of Sept. 22nd/03
Rating: **** out of ****

'Matchstick Men' is one of the best pictures I’ve seen this year. This film has all the elements of a masterpiece: an excellent script adapted from an equally great novel, a cast of extraordinary actors including Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell, and a brilliant director like Ridley Scott behind the camera. Nicolas Cage has Oscar Nomination printed well on his forehead in this film. His portrayal as a man suffering from obsessive compulsions and neuroticism is done so well it’s almost scary.

The editing by Dody Dorn and the cinematography by John Mathieson I found particularly compelling in this film as well. Whenever Nicolas Cage’s character is having a neurotic attack, we are shown many fast and creative cuts and indecisiveness of the camera as well as varying focuses of the lens; almost as if the camera itself has OCD. It’s brilliant - It left me with a very unsettling and edgy feeling as I was watching; it gives us as close a feeling as possible to what Nicolas Cage’s character is experiencing at that time. The style of the film definitely fits the subject matter with what we are dealing. Ridley Scott develops that relationship with his casts and crews. If you look at his previous works such as “Alien”, “Blade Runner”, to his newer stuff like, “Gladiator”, and “Black Hawk Down”, they all seem to have a certain visual quality to them that Scott seems to keep true to all his films. I think he has an ability to make things appear dark in nature. Like in such films as “Gladiator”, and “Black Hawk Down”, there are scenes which take place in the day-time, but with Scott’s signature filmmaking techniques he is able to apply a certain feeling of darkness to scenes which take place in the daylight.

I must say that the one point of the film I found disappointing was the character of Sam Rockwell. I personally feel that Sam Rockwell is one of the best up and coming actors in the business right now. After his performances in “Confessions of a Dangerous Ming”, and “Welcome to Collinwood”, especially the former, I just knew he was going to be a superstar. Then I heard that he was starring opposite Nicolas Cage in a Ridley Scott film and I was very excited. However, his character is no stretch for the kinds of roles that Rockwell has been doing. He needed to be in a more challenging role, such as Cage’s. Rockwell’s character was just a sidekick or a lackey. If that was supposed to be the point, than he hit it right on the money. Otherwise, I found it less than superb. Perhaps they would’ve been better off going with someone like Johnny Depp, who is red hot right now riding off the success of two huge summer movies: “Pirates Of The Caribbean”, and “Once Upon A Time In Mexico”. It surely would’ve been nice on Mr. Depp’s resume to have a summer hat trick on there. A “Hat Trick” for those who do not follow hockey is scoring three times in one game.

Minor qualms aside, Matchstick Men is still a tour de force and one of the best films of the year. It is great to see someone like Scott, whose big budget action spectaculars have made him legendary, take on a smaller more personal project and still make it equally as appealing.