#Focus movie movie
#Focus movie professional

But it keeps going, traveling to Buenos Aires three years later. If вЂњFocusвЂќ could have ended there, it would have been a dazzling little gem. I wouldnвЂ™t dream of giving away its many surprises, but I will say this: You will never listen to the Rolling StonesвЂ™ overused вЂњSympathy for the DevilвЂќ in a film the same way ever again.

#Focus movie movie

This section of the movie could function as its own freestanding short film, it has such a strong arc and it provides such a heady mix of tension and laughs. The Superdome itself provides the setting for the filmвЂ™s tour de force sequence in which NickyвЂ™s gambling habits put him in serious peril with a high roller (an amusing BD Wong) in a luxury suite. And Jess distracts Nicky, too, as the thrill of the wrongness of it all gives way to (not-entirely convincing) romance. (Whatever you do, donвЂ™t call it the Super Bowl.) Turns out, sheвЂ™s a natural-a massive distraction in a tight dress with a light touch-as revealedВ in a beautifully edited sequence amid the crowds of Bourbon Street.

#Focus movie professional

Then itвЂ™s off to New Orleans, where Nicky reluctantly lets Jess join the massive team heвЂ™s assembled to snatch watches and wallets from the unsuspecting revelers whoвЂ™ve gathered for a Major Professional Football Championship. This leads to a scene thatвЂ™s one of the filmвЂ™s highlights as they flirtatiously dance around each other in a snowy Lincoln Center, with Nicky preaching the importance of taking away a markвЂ™s focus while pocketing every last one of JessвЂ™ belongings. Once each of them realizes the truth about the other-if such a thing as truth is possible in a movie about con artists-she begs him to teach her everything he knows. HeвЂ™s been at this game his whole life and has major operations down to a science. (The way cinematographer Xavier Perez Grobet often shoots them-sitting opposite each other at a table in an opulent setting, bathed in sultry light-is reminiscent of the Steven Soderbergh classic вЂњ Out of SightвЂќ in ways that surely canвЂ™t be a coincidence.) SheвЂ™s a small-time hustler trying to weasel her way into more lucrative gigs. But, like Ficarra and RequaвЂ™s 2011 comedy вЂњCrazy Stupid Love,вЂќ вЂњFocusвЂќ begins promisingly and bops along enjoyably for a while, only to run out of steam in the third act.ДЄt the start, though, SmithвЂ™s Nicky and RobbieвЂ™s Jess enjoy crackling chemistry as strangers trying to outsmart each other over wine and candlelight at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. The film from the writing-directing duo of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa gives these actors plenty of brisk and snappy material to work with, both individually and as a team in various forms. She also has great instincts and a flair for comic timing, with a playfulness thatвЂ™s as powerful as her sex appeal. ItвЂ™s not just that sheвЂ™s stunningly beautiful and impossibly photogenic (which she is). After a hilarious and head-turning supporting performance in 2013вЂ™s вЂњ The Wolf of Wall StreetвЂќ-where she nearly stole the whole behemoth of a film out from underneath a larger-than-life Leonardo DiCaprio-the Australian actress proves sheвЂ™s just as fierce as a leading lady. ItвЂ™s as if heвЂ™s finally shifted into the right gear as he settles into middle age-good lord, is the eternally boyish and buoyant Smith approaching 50?-and heвЂ™s comfortable there.ДЇor Robbie, вЂњFocusвЂќ cements her status as a major star. But recent years havenвЂ™t treated him so kindly, between the ponderous вЂњ Seven Pounds,вЂќ the forgettable вЂњMen in Black 3вЂќ and the disastrous вЂњ After Earth.вЂќ Here, as a veteran con man, Smith seems looser-charming as ever but also broken, commanding yet vulnerable. ItвЂ™s all giddy, fizzy fun-until it isnвЂ™t anymore-in вЂњ Focus.вЂќД«ut co-stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie remain consistently charismatic, even once the script for this heist caper collapses in a punishing pile of its own twists and double-crosses.ДЇor Smith, вЂњFocusвЂќ functions as a return to form, which admittedly sounds odd in describing a box-office titan who hasnвЂ™t really gone anywhere in the past quarter-century. Gorgeous people in expensive clothing trade snappy banter in luxurious locations.