The Old Man & the Gun

Eighty-two-year-old Robert Redford claims this is his final performance. If so, the charismatic actor goes out with a dazzling smile. Based on David Grann’s 2003 New Yorker profile, Redford plays real-life con-man Forrest Tucker (1920-2004), whose greatest joy is robbing banks. Often working with two cohorts (Tom Waits, Danny Glover), Tucker spends hours, even days, devising a plan. And then, dressed in a suit, tie, and fedora, and carrying a briefcase, he unobtrusively walks in, quietly asks to see the manager and politely demands cash. There is never any violence, and his victims often remark on what a courteous gentleman he is, always smiling. Occasionally, Tucker is caught; indeed, he has spent his life breaking out of various prisons, starting with juvenile detention and including San Quentin and Alcatraz. After one heist, Tucker evades the police by stopping to help a motorist named Jewel (Sissy Spacek) who has engine trouble, and then becomes acquainted with this down-to-earth widow/rancher over coffee. The pair are opposites but have an almost combustible compatibility. One of their most endearing scenes takes place in a mall, where Tucker urges Jewel to try on a bracelet and then they blithely walk out of the jewelry store without paying. Conscience-stricken, she insists they return the bauble, much to Tucker's amusement. Writer-director David Lowery makes the most of the Redford/Spacek chemistry, but the rest of the melancholy film is a drag. As the brooding detective determined to capture Tucker, Casey Affleck is a bore, as is his wife (Tika Sumpter), and Elisabeth Moss is wasted as Tucker’s estranged daughter. But Redford steals the show, making this a strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)