Critique of “The Old Man & the Gun” (2018): A Movie Review

Robert Redford ( Our Souls At Night) is an American icon and in David Lowery’s The Old Man and the Gun he has ostensibly given his last curtain call as an actress. Lowery adapted the story from an article by David Grann in 2003’s New Yorker (” the Lost City of Z“) about Forrest Tucker. The movie is described as “mostly accurate” and is a crowd-pleaser. It is also a great send off for Redford, who seems to enjoy himself. Forrest Tucker, the smiling gentleman bank robber who stole more than four million dollars in his “career,” has been transformed into a legend that can be compared to outlaws like Jesse James and Doc Holliday. Redford’s portrayal of Tucker as an escape artist and thief is convincing. Tucker was first jailed when he was a teenager. The film opens with an introduction to Tucker’s method of operation, which he repeats during multiple holdups across the Midwest. He approaches a bank teller almost like he’s ready to ask her on a date. He displays his gun, which he says he’s never used. Then he asks her to hand over the money of the bank. The original scared teller becomes a victim of Tucker’s charms, who compliments the teller on her good work (presumably for efficiently collecting money for him). He flees from the scene and avoids the chasing cop cars by stopping to assist Jewel (Sissy spacek, ” the Help“), a woman of his age, whose car is broken down at the side. Tucker, who knows little about cars but is willing to hide in the ditch while the police cruise by. In some of the most memorable scenes, Tucker offers Jewel a ride and they become fast friends. Tucker and Jewel stop at a restaurant together, where Tucker discovers Jewel is a widow living alone on a ranch. When Tucker is asked what his job is, he tells her that he works in sales. He also gives a false name. She is unable to resist falling in love with her despite his lies. She still loves him without condition when she finds out the truth. Tucker will never put her ahead of his first love. She is a great way to relieve banks from their cash. The real Jewel, a Miami shipping heiress who married Tucker as his third wife, didn’t care about the banks’ petty sums. The Old Man and the Gun also tells the story of John Hunt, a police officer (Casey Affleck from “Manchester by the Sea) who is assigned to bring Tucker into justice. Hunt is also apprehensive about the investigation, as Tucker was, but he becomes more determined when he learns that Tucker belongs to the “Over the Hill Gang,” which includes Waller and Teddy, played by Danny Glover (“The Imaginearium of Dr. Parnassus“), who are a group of fearsome gentleman robbers. The film is characterized by a 70s look and feel, complete with topical music and a “cool” film soundtrack (“Pete’s Dragon“) from Daniel Hart. This brings us to a time when character studies were a more popular genre than superheroes. Lowery said that she wanted Redford to be a prototypical American outlaw. Lowery said, “I wanted him (Redford) to be the prototypical American outlaw. The Old Man and the Gun might give some viewers moral pause. However, it is simply continuing the Hollywood tradition that glamorizes outlaws. Films like “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and other films once considered enemies of the laws are now regarded as colorful heroes. The end result was inevitable, but it’s still fun to break the law. The film makes no moral distinctions and some critics refer to Tucker’s criminal activity as an “artform,” “hobby,” “skill” or “skill set.” One critic described Tucker as “a man who loves his work” and Lowery said that he was “always drawn to these characters due to their spirit.” The director compared it to his life as a film-maker who felt like “he constantly has to get by with it.”