Criminal (2004)

I find it so easy to like movies about con artists. They're just so cool, I'm more inclined to be impressed with them than offended. With Criminal, long-time Soderbergh assistant director Gregory Jacobs goes solo for the first time with a remake of the Argentinian film Nueve Reinas (though Soderbergh co-wrote the screenplay with him- with a Brazil reference pen name! Eep!). John C Reilly stars as Richard Gaddis, a smooth and untrustworthy con man who picks up Rodrigo (Diego Luna) trying to short change a casino waitress. Having recently lost his partner and sensing in the kid a natural ability for deceit below his desperation, Richard takes him on for the day to teach him some basics and see if he'll work for a long-term partnership. Rodrigo is seriously in need of a large sum of money in a small amount of time due to his father's debts, so he's keen to listen to everything his new mentor says.

They do some small-time stuff, getting some cash from a restaurant and an old lady, until Richard's sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal) calls him up for help ridding her hotel of one of his disreputable friends, counterfeiter Ochoa (Zitto Kazann). He tells Richard about a rare historical form of currency that he's perfectly replicated, which can be sold for mad monies, if he can find someone to sell it for him. Richard accepts and begins laying down plans to sell it to wealthy Scottish business tycoon William Hannigan (Peter Mullan), an avid collector who's leaving the country the next day and therefore won't have time to check its validity properly. He's also staying in the hotel where Valerie works. And Valerie is in the middle of a heated lawsuit with her brother, and never happy to have him around. There are various mishaps and twists to keep the new partners on their toes throughout their big-time con, as well as several people forcing themselves in on the cut. We'll see who wins.

I really enjoyed Criminal. It's not particularly special, but it's funny and well-plotted, with a great cast and cool, grainy shooting style that feels a bit voyeuristic. It's so nice to see John C Reilly starring in something, especially something that isn't completely over the top. He has great natural timing and a rough-around-the-edges persona that really fits the role. I hadn't seen Diego Luna in anything besides Milk and Mister Lonely (yeah, yeah I know Y Tu Mamá También- I'll get to it eventually), but he was pretty cute and funny here, playing the seemingly innocent and ambitious Rodrigo with warmth and wit. And naturally Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent, though I wasn't a fan of her haircut.

It's a good story, written well enough to keep the viewer engaged as well as on edge concerning just how much anyone can trust Richard. I certainly wasn't sure whom to root for. It gets surprisingly exciting at parts, too. The ending is a bit too sweet and overwrought, I thought, but I can see why the writers chose to end it the way they did. I'm not sure what the differences are between this and the original, but I'd like to see it at some point, since imdb commenters are all "The original is so much better!!!111lol", etc.

4/5