Review of “The Lookout”

Creation of a new film based in everyday realities, that also has a sense of uniqueness is a difficult thing. Sure, there is the occasional “Memento” or “Being John Malkovich.” But films of that ilk, while eminently enjoyable and certainly worthy of adulation are curios. They have nothing to do with real life.

So, when a well crafted gem like “The Lookout” comes along, it is time to rejoice. Of course, the award quality flick is woefully under-marketed, so it will be seen by few. And forgotten long before the statuette season draws nigh at the end of the year. More’s the pity.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a hotshot hockey star in his small hometown near Kansas City. One summer night he causes an accident while behind the wheel on a rural road, that kills the double-daters in the back, injures his girlfriend, and causes serious but obviously not fatal brain injuries to himself. Several years later, the film begins.

He’s in rehab, learning how to cope with his memory lapses and the exigencies of daily life which vex him. He’s in therapy. The authorities have set him up with a roommate, portrayed by Jeff Daniels in a zesty performance. Daniels is blind, the cause of his situation: he ran a meth lab.

At night, Gordon-Levitt has a job cleaning up a bank in his hometown. At a local hangout, he hooks up with a town rogue, played subtly by Matthew Goode. Goode and some cronies intend to burglarize the bank where Gordon-Levitt works. They seduce him — literally — into joining them as the lookout.

The plot is simple enough, but unique, and oh so deliciously depicted. There are the parallel stories of Gordon-Levitt’s rehab, his remorse, his relationships with his rich family, with Daniels and with Isla Fisher, who plays the bait to seduce him into the bank plot. The tales are told without being trite. There are moments when the future seems to be foretold. Not so. Much to the credit of the filmmaker.

Who happens to be Scott Frank. His screen writing resumé is exemplary. “Out of Sight.” “Get Shorty.” “Little Man Tate.” “The Interpreter.” This is his directorial debut. It won’t be his last film in that chair, rest assured. His is a sure hand. There isn’t anything overbearing in the generation of the story.

Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal is nuanced. His is a personal conflict apparent to the viewer by not necessarily to the other characters. Daniels has always been stalwart. He doesn’t disappoint. It is a pitch perfect rendering of a likable, but flawed person, who is wise, but not as much as he thinks. Goode does menace well, but avoids caricature. The strength here is in the underplayed details.

Rare is the cinematic creature that melds stories oft told into a new, enticing rendering. “The Lookout” does that. Why it is so devoid of studio push is the enigma that is Hollywoodland in the era of überbiz over craft.