Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and John Hawkes star in this wildly entertaining caper, adapted from a book by Elmore Leonard, about two ex-cons whose plan to kidnap a real estate developer’s wife doesn’t go quite as smoothly as expected.
Author Elmore Leonard's characters Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara were made famous on the screen by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Stepping into the skin of Robbie and Gara for a very different adventure set fifteen years prior to the events of Jackie Brown, yasiin bey (perhaps better known to audiences as Mos Def ) and John Hawkes star in Daniel Schechter's new seventies caper comedy, Life of Crime.
Fresh out of prison, where they bonded over their similar convictions for grand theft auto, Ordell (bey, also at the Festival in Can a Song Save Your Life?) and Louis (Hawkes) have already decided to team up when they catch wind of Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins), a Detroit property developer and secret embezzler. Their plan is simple: they'll kidnap Frank's country-club wife, Mickey (Jennifer Aniston), and hold her for ransom. What the duo didn't count on is that Frank's affections have turned to his perky young mistress, Melanie (played by the always charming Isla Fisher), and he may not be in a rush to rescue his spouse. Eliciting Mickey's insider knowledge, the crooks shift gears, frantically devising a new plan.
Also featuring great performances from Will Forte and Seana Kofoed, Life of Crime utilizes its all-star cast and impeccable art direction to build an entertaining and hilarious period piece. Evoking the spirit of some of the greatest film adaptations of Leonard's novels — Get Shorty, Out of Sight and, of course, Jackie Brown — Schechter serves up a twisty comedic gem.
Screenings
Scotiabank 2
Scotiabank 4
Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
Roy Thomson Hall
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema