A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

At last Nick Cage had a good character for redemption for such bad roles in late years,Ridley provides a great plot with a disturb leading role which is the best of the picture,the whole sting stay in backdrop or in second plane,this kind of disorder is very usual nowadays,the behavior obsessive compulsive reach around 20% of population,and how it is great bring it a movie as shown in this one,great approach by Ridley Scott and magnificent acting by Cage!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Matchstick Men represents a pleasant change of pace for Ridley Scott. For a director known for doing films that are both large thematically and in scope, it's nice to see him tackle a film that has a simple premise which allows him to build the themes that he wants to discuss. Matchstick Men is a difficult film to categorise, as is the case for most con films. It has touches of dark comedy and pieces of crime thriller, plenty of drama without losing its quirkiness. It often plays out like a character study of a man who struggles to balance his dirty deeds with his mental issues. All of this delivered in a very free-flowing and vibrant way, much like the majority of Scott's work.At its core the film is about con man Roy Waller who suffers from serve OCD which become even worse once he loses his pills, shown in a scene that is both funny and sad where he spends a day cleaning his entire house. He then goes to see doctor who takes an interest in his life and wants to help him defeat his illness. Cage is the star centrepiece of the film. He also provides one of his best performances. In a way it is prefect casting, Cage has always been at his best playing edgy and jittery characters and here he gets a legitimate reason to act that way. His performance provides a surprising amount of sympathy as well as humour, he gets so into the character that his frequent ticks seem natural. The story develops further when it turns out Roy has a 14 year-old daughter called Angela who he decides to meet, which leads to him struggling to balance out both sides of his life. Enter Alison Lohman who is fantastic. It's hard to believe that she is playing a character ten years younger than she was at the time given how natural her performance is. She manages to capture the essence of what a character that age would be like, without detracting from the emotional weight and likability that she brings. I also think that Sam Rockwell (who I swear has never put in a subpar performance) deserves some praise for his role as Roy's confident business partner.It is tough to reveal much more about the plot without giving away pieces of information that might spoil its ending. Scott's direction is certainly a highlight, as usual with his films. It is possibly his most fluid film and he manages to convey Roy's breakdowns with his subtle use of the camera, whilst the frequent use of blue shade invokes the calmness of water which becomes something of a motif. From a visual standpoint the film reminded a lot of 'Catch Me If You Can' given its vibrancy and colour scheme. Adding to this is both the editing and the transitions which are seamlessly done. Hans Zimmer's score is also worth a mention, trading in his usually bombastic compositions for more jazzy and bass heavy pieces that fit the film perfectly.The only part of the film that left me cold was its climax and its eventual twist (which I won't reveal). For me the twist did disrupt a lot of the film's emotional and grounded aspects that had been developed excellently throughout. It brings a jolt that almost pushes you out of the film and instead of feeling that the twist transformed the film into something completely different, it simply felt like an unnecessary addition. I think the film would have been even stronger had it avoided said twist all together.Matchstick Men ends up feeling exactly like what Ridley Scott wants it to be. It's a film that blends multiple genres together and basically plays them off against the typical con man film style. It does go deeper than the story initially suggests, almost working as a psychological study of Roy and the building of his relationship with the daughter he never knew existed. On a surface level however, the film is constantly entertaining. Whether it is for the excellent acting, the charming central narrative, the tension building con or Scott's wonderful direction it doesn't really matter because all of these aspects blend with and play off of each other so well. I don't think the twist works, but it's a testament to the films strength that it isn't overly damaged by that. For me it's a film that is meant to be enjoyed on the surface, before you start to analyse what is underneath.

I just happened to come across this movie while it was showing on TV, and I decided to actually sit down and watch it, even though it is a Nicolas Cage movie. And having seen it now, I must admit that I was more than pleasantly surprised with it.This was, hand on Heart, actually the best of all Nicolas Cage movies that I have seen so far. Why? Well, because of the movie's riveting storyline, but more importantly because Nicolas Cage delivered the best performance of his entire career in "Matchstick Men".The storyline in "Matchstick Men" is gripping, interesting and fast paced. More importantly, though, there are some nice change of events and plot twists along the way. I didn't see those surprise twists coming before they were actually revealed on the screen, and that kind of non-predictability is good.The acting in the movie was really good and helped further the movie quite nicely. Especially Nicolas Cage was in his ace corner here with this particular oddball character. But also Ram Rockwell and Alison Lohman were delivering good performances."Matchstick Men" is a very interesting movie that is quite good and should be seen, even if you, like me, are not particularly much of a Nicolas Cage fan.

There is this notion Matchstick Men is a minor curiosity in Ridley Scott's filmography, some little comedy about a con artist bonding with his daughter... for me it's one of his best movies since the incredible starting streak (The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner). A director with an amazing eye for visuals, Scott can shoot very pretty pictures but has no quality control when it comes to choosing scripts, with often disheartening results.Matchstick Men, however, has a strong screenplay, with vivid characters and sharp dialogues. Cage, who can be a calamity in the wrong part (The Wicker Man), is smartly cast as a phobic weirdo, which allows him to unleash one of his amiably over-the-top performances. In the right role he can still knock it out of the park - I am thinking of a moment near the end, where his heartbroken sobs morph into a bark of hysterical laughter. Alison Lohman is perfect in a tricky role; Sam Rockwell and Bruce McGill give solid supporting turns.8/10