Crime is a 2003 film based on a foreign one, Nueve Reinas.
Rodrigo (Diego Luna) is a young Mexican male who, while in a casino, tries the old screwing up the waitress so she gives the wrong change con, when he's spotted by Richard (John C. Reilly). He gets Richard out of the casino by claiming to be a cop.
Richard no longer has a partner, so he offers to take on Rodrigo. Rodrigo has a little money but he needs more to pay his father's gambling debts.
Richard has his own problems, namely, his sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom Richard cheated, along with their brother, out of their part of their mother's estate. She's suing him.
Richard is contacted by a businessman, once an associate of his, who wants help selling a forged treasury note to someone who needs to leave the country the next day due to his visa expiring.
Another man intrudes on the deal, and Richard needs more money and asks Rodrigo to use his savings.
John C. Reilly is a wonderful actor. Here, playing a crook through and through, a racist, an anti-Semite, a man who cons his own family, he's excellent, actually bringing humor to a character who is reprehensible. He was actually cast as Stanley Kowalski in the Natalie Richardson "Streetcar Named Desire," a casting I'll never understand, although I'm sure he was excellent, if the wrong type.
Diego Luna is sweet and unassuming as Richard's partner, who seems out of his depth.
I felt this film moved a little slowly and also, I have to admit that I'm tired of this type of plot. I saw it coming a mile away. It was somewhat fresh 40 years ago. No more.
I love suspense, mystery, crime drama, etc., so I wonder how many of this type of movie I'll have to sit through over the next 30 years.
However, it has entertainment value and good performances, and if you don't watch these films as much as I do, you may love it. Hope so.
Rodrigo (Diego Luna) is a young Mexican male who, while in a casino, tries the old screwing up the waitress so she gives the wrong change con, when he's spotted by Richard (John C. Reilly). He gets Richard out of the casino by claiming to be a cop.
Richard no longer has a partner, so he offers to take on Rodrigo. Rodrigo has a little money but he needs more to pay his father's gambling debts.
Richard has his own problems, namely, his sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom Richard cheated, along with their brother, out of their part of their mother's estate. She's suing him.
Richard is contacted by a businessman, once an associate of his, who wants help selling a forged treasury note to someone who needs to leave the country the next day due to his visa expiring.
Another man intrudes on the deal, and Richard needs more money and asks Rodrigo to use his savings.
John C. Reilly is a wonderful actor. Here, playing a crook through and through, a racist, an anti-Semite, a man who cons his own family, he's excellent, actually bringing humor to a character who is reprehensible. He was actually cast as Stanley Kowalski in the Natalie Richardson "Streetcar Named Desire," a casting I'll never understand, although I'm sure he was excellent, if the wrong type.
Diego Luna is sweet and unassuming as Richard's partner, who seems out of his depth.
I felt this film moved a little slowly and also, I have to admit that I'm tired of this type of plot. I saw it coming a mile away. It was somewhat fresh 40 years ago. No more.
I love suspense, mystery, crime drama, etc., so I wonder how many of this type of movie I'll have to sit through over the next 30 years.
However, it has entertainment value and good performances, and if you don't watch these films as much as I do, you may love it. Hope so.