Heist movies are sometimes difficult things to pull off. Some are successful (like Ocean's Eleven) and some are not (like Ocean's Twelve). Some are very dramatic, some have humorous undertones. The new heist movie Focus falls in the latter category, and adds a bit of romance into the mix.
Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned con man who runs a team of master pickpockets who target large events like conventions and sporting events. One night in a restaurant, Nicky is approached by the beautiful Jess (Margot Robbie) to help get her out of a situation … pretend to be her date. Turns out Jess is also a pickpocket, a rather amateur one at that, who is called out by Nicky for her technique. Realizing he's a master, she begs him to mentor her in the fine art of theft.
He does, reluctantly at first, but her skills win him over, the team pulls off a million dollar day at a vaguely Super Bowl-ish event, and he sends Jess on her way with no explanation, breaking her heart in the process. Three years later, Nicky is working a new job in Brazil and it just so happens Jess is there too, now the girlfriend of his new mark. But is she really, or is she working a game too? And just who is playing whom?
Focus, thankfully, is a fun heist movie with beautiful leads pulling off impossible crimes, and no one really gets hurt (well, not until the last third of the movie). Smith is back in fine form, turning on the charm and looking great at 45 (trivia: Smith is now older than Uncle Phil was at the start of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). After a series of much too serious films which culminated in the bomb that was After Earth, Smith is actually having fun again as the romantic lead who can talk a good game.
Margot Robbie, who made a big splash in The Wolf of Wall Street (and who will play DC Comics villain Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad alongside Jared Leto as The Joker), should become a huge star after this movie. First of all, she's simply gorgeous (I have a little gay crush on her now). But besides her beauty, the girl can act! There is a pretty funny scene with Nicky trying to teach Jess how to be alluring, but she can never get the look on her face right. She shows her confidence and excitement during the pick-pocketing, and she is incredibly vulnerable when Nicky forces her to potentially gamble away all of the money they just took in. Robbie truly sells that Jess feels completely betrayed with such honesty you just want to jump into the movie and give her a big hug.
The film is filled out with some great character actors in key roles including Adrian Martinez as Nicky's closest friend Farhad, Brennan Brown as Horst (who really runs Nicky's game but disappears midway through the movie) and Gerald McRaney as Owens, the chief of security for Nicky's mark in Brazil (played by Rodrigo Santoro). The movie, however, belongs to Smith and Robbie who have a great scene with B.D. Wong at the aforementioned Super Bowl-ish game that is the highlight of the movie.
While the movie is great fun overall, it does suffer from a bit of disjointedness and has just a few plot holes. First and foremost, the first "meet cute" between Nicky and Jess. Was it a coincidence that two pickpockets just happened to cross paths in that restaurant, or was Nicky actually watching Jess from afar? Who knows. And in the second half of the movie, did Jess know Nicky was going to be in Brazil three years later, and was she really there just to steal a $200,00 watch or to play Nicky? Never explained. Too many of these coincidences can sink a movie, but the stars are just so engaging that you accept it all and go along for the ride.
Besides the star power, the film looks gorgeous, particularly in the first part of the film with some of the most beautiful lighting I've seen on film in a while. The look of the film also changes from that dark, but lush winter in New York lighting to harsh, bright Brazilian sunlight in the last part of the film but it all serves a purpose. The film also has one of the best soundtracks of recent memory, using the music to set the mood. Focus may not be the best heist movie ever made, especially with the major plot holes, but the twists and turns, the constant guessing of who is playing whom, the music and the great performances of Smith and Robbie make it a worthwhile getaway from our wintry weather.
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