Focus

R.           112 min

OK gang this one is a little bit under the radar but it is in the brick and n mortar theaters including Chagrin Cinemas and the Cedar Lee who often have cool things on the screen.  I actually caught it on the hometown Lake 8 Movies for those familiar with the 44203. For the record I like gambling movies, I like con movies, I like Oscar Isaac and director Paul Schrader did TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL so he gets a pass no matter what.  So, I’m going to ask you to take this spoiler alert seriously. If you have any intention of seeing this flick, I think you should go into it with a blank slate the way that I did. Sure, it's about gambling and yes, it's set mostly in casinos but there's a huge undercurrent of revenge and redemption that are the real story here. The title character William Tell (Isaac) is an extremely complicated person.  8 years in prison and even more disturbing events before that have turned him into an obsessive-compulsive neurotic savant. His heightened ability to remember which cards have been played and the odds on the next hand have made him a successful gambler which works out well for him since he doesn't like to do anything, I mean anything, except play cards.

 Other important players include La Linda (Tiffany Haddish) is a liaison for a group of investors who put up the front money and split the winnings with gamblers; she's been trying to get William to come aboard for a long time, without any luck.

Cirk (Tye Sheridan) a young man whose life and family have been all but destroyed because of cause of one man. He spots William and recognizes him from old news footage.  The two men appearing to share a common enemy.

Gordo (Willem Defoe), the bad guy. A US military contractor in charge of training young troops in the art of torture and interrogation a decade earlier.  When the enhanced interrogation became national news many of the US servicemen were given a show trial and punished. Gordo on the other hand, as a contractor, was given a pass and has gone on to run his own successful private security business.  And that doesn't seem fair to anyone.

William and Cirk will embark on a journey with similar but distinctly different intentions. Cirk plans to torture and kill Gordo, the man responsible for the destruction of his family.  William’s desire is that Cirk find his damaged mother and make amends.   There are lots more details, but that's all I will say now and I hope you haven't even read this much before you've gone to see the film. Let me assure you, however, that it will take the entire film to build-up to the ending and become clear, or as clear as possible.

A-

WSS