The Old Man and the Gun 2018

     This film is based on the true story of Forrest Tucker.  The script is based on David Grann’s 2003 article in the New Yorker with the same title.  It was also added to Grann’s book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes.  Forrest liked to rob banks and he was very polite.  He accomplished an unprecedented string of robberies that confused authorities and enchanted the public.  Sometimes he worked alone and other times he worked with Teddy and Waller.  Detective John Hunt is working on the case and he’s trying to find any new angle.  Jewel meets Forrest when her truck is broken down at the side of a road.  He’s driving a getaway car but he switched from the car he used in the robbery and he stops to help her?  Surprisingly, Jewel begins to love Forrest despite his line of work?

     There is an interesting aspect to this film and that is the 20-year time span and the different period looks.  The cast and the backgrounds needed to match the time period and there was aging and de-aging with makeup.  I thought this film was interesting and good.  I wondered how much money did Forrest Tucker need?  He was getting a briefcase full every time he went into a bank?  He was also an escape artist and difficult to keep inside jails and prisons!!  He escaped from San Quentin at the age of 70 and this is a maximum-security correctional facility for men located near San Francisco, California.  It opened in 1852 and it’s the state’s oldest prison.  It is a facility that formerly conducted executions and the most well known prison in the United States.  Alcatraz is another prison and it’s located in the San Francisco Bay.  This facility is surrounded by ocean water below 60 degrees that often contains sharks.  They are mainly leopard sharks.  The currents are very strong and when the tide recedes, the current usually draws people and objects out toward the Pacific Ocean.  4 ½* (I really liked this movie)

93 min, Bio directed and written by David Lowery with Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, Ari Elizabeth Johnson, Teagan Johnson, Gene Jones, John David Washington, Barlow Jacobs, Augustine Frizzell, Jennifer Joplin, Lisa DeRoberts.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 92% critic 60% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Empire Online 4* out of 5* Nev Pierce, Metacritic 80 out of 10 with 49 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 70 reviews, RollingStone 4 1/2* out of 5* Peter Travers, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 243 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Bethel, Dayton, Cincinnati, Blue Ash, Hamilton, Batavia, Ohio; Jackson, Michigan; Bellmead and Fort Worth, Texas; Newport, Kentucky and Covington, Kentucky.  This is Robert Redford’s final role before retiring from acting.  He gave an interview during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and he talked about this comedic film being a good note to end his career.  He wanted his last acting job to be fun.  There are four Oscar winners in this film.  Casey Affleck, Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek and Keith Carradine.  Tom Waits was an Oscar nominee.