Movies about grifters are nothing new, usually glorifying the art of the steal or smart con jobs. Some play up the comedic elements while others use a dark and serious take on the subject. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE) are bringing their perspective on the concept to big screens in the new movie FOCUS, which finds a nice tonal balance with the material and in many ways feels like a caper film from yesteryear… and these days that’s not a bad thing.

Nicky (Will Smith) is a master con artist who knows his limits but continually lives the lonely life. One night while out to eat he meets Jess (Margot Robbie), a beautiful woman who tries to con him in amateur fashion. Nicky quickly figures her out and shuts her down, but she fascinates him enough that he wants to bring her into his world. After a bit of schooling on how to pickpocket, Jess looks to be a natural who is only in need of guidance. Nicky introduces her to his friends Horst (Brennan Brown) and Farhad (Adrian Martinez), who help run his small warehouse of of like-minded employees, and as time passes he develops more than just a business relationship with the young woman. Eventually things go south, and the two find themselves separated for three years. As Nicky begins immersing himself into a new con job, assisting car racing guru Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro) in duping a competitor, he soon learns that none other than Jess is his new employer’s girlfriend. Feelings resurface and matters are made more difficult as Garriga’s bodyguard Owens (Gerald McRaney) gets increasingly suspicious of Nicky’s actions.

The character of Nicky is a far cry from the lovable and endearing roles we’re all used to seeing Will Smith play, and in many ways that’s a breath of much-needed fresh air. In recent years (not counting MEN IN BLACK III) Smith hasn’t had many memorable films hitting theaters, despite his early Hollywood career being so popular. Now is the time for him to reinvent himself as an actor, branch out and do different things, take on characters people wouldn’t expect to see him do. There’s a cool and collected demeanor to Nicky, who also shows unexpected flaws that keep things interesting. It’s not necessarily a great character, but it is an interesting one. In truth the scene-stealer here is Margot Robbie, who in many ways outshines and out-performs just about everyone around her. Robbie (who is actually Australian) made a big splash with American audiences in Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET a little over a year ago, holding her own with Leonardo DiCaprio and holding the attention of audiences worldwide playing a Long Island princess. In FOCUS she plays the role of Jess as a pretty girl with nothing going for her, knowing and even saying she’s always been one step away from becoming a hooker. She has no proper skills, so grifting is pretty much all she can hope to excel at. In meeting Nicky she finds a teacher and lover, but learns some hard lessons along the way. Watching her go through various events and emotions in the film shows just how strong of an actress she is. While she’s quite obviously stunning to look at, there’s a lot more to this woman, and her screen presence is captivating in the way classic Hollywood actresses used to display. Rodrigo Santoro is fairly good playing the second and third act heavy, but it’s Gerald McRaney who unexpectedly shines as the intimidating and opinionated tough guy constantly leering at our protagonists. While many may not remember McRaney from his TV days on SIMON & SIMON or MAJOR DAD, he’s made a bit of a comeback recently with HOUSE OF CARDS, LONGMIRE and SOUTHLAND. In FOCUS he shows just how strong he can command the big screen, perhaps even better than the small screen, and delivers some of the more memorable lines of the piece. Fans of LONGMIRE should also look for series star Robert Taylor (using his native Australian accent) as the competing race car owner to Rodrigo Santoro’s character, and watch for the wonderful BD Wong as an eccentric businessman who loves to gamble… it’s one of the greatest scenes in the film.

The script, also by co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, moves along at a brisk pace, never allowing the audience to get bored or distracted. What I enjoyed about the film is that is feels in many ways like an older production, sort of a throwback to 1960s caper movies like OCEAN’S 11 (1960), BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968) or even THE ITALIAN JOB (1969). There’s also an underlying element that living this lifestyle means never finding true happiness, which thankfully keeps the story from essentially glorifying the criminal acts it shows. FOCUS is a solid crime film and character piece that should do well this time of year, and show audiences a different side of Will Smith, which hopefully will lead to him going for more inspired script choices. Interestingly enough Smith and Robbie will soon be seen together again in SUICIDE SQUAD, based on the DC Comics series in which super-villains are given a chance to redeem themselves by taking on an impossible mission… after seeing their great chemistry in this film, I’m now very excited to watch what they do together in the next one.

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