"Criminal" is the American version of an Argentinian film, "Nine Queens". "Nine Queens" is an amazingly good picture...so good that I recommend you see it. Should you bother seeing this Americanization? Read on to see.
The story begins with a clumsy young grifter, Rodrigo (Diego Luna),scamming in a casino. Another grifter, the more experienced and suave Richard (John C. Reilly),sees what's happening...and sees when one of the employees recognize that they are being swindled. So, Richard pretends to be a cop and 'arrests' Rodrigo...and after leaving the casino, Richard offers to hire the young man, as he needs a new partner. But first, to make sure he can handle it, they spend the day cheating people...to make sure Rodrigo is good at his craft. So where does all this go next and what does a forged bank note have to do with them? See the film.
Richard is an extremely crude, unlikable and crass guy. While I usually hate that in movies, considering he's supposed to be a complete sociopath, it actually makes sense to have him be so awful. Reilly does a fine job here...though my wife said "I prefer him when he plays idiots like in TALLADEGA NIGHTS"). As for the rest, they're fine and the movie is enjoyable and intelligently made. But the bottom line is that it is NOT original and so the movie loses a point or so. Still, it's is good and well worth your time...if you are, for some reason, dead set against seeing the better original.
Criminal
2004
Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller
Criminal
2004
Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller
Keywords: con mancon artist
Plot summary
In Los Angeles, Richard Gaddis and a Mexican immigrant named Rodrigo, both small time con men, meet in the progress of one of their cons gone wrong, the other who proves to be the savior in the situation. Richard is looking for someone to replace his old partner, "the Jew", so that he can move onto bigger cons, while Rodrigo is trying to obtain money to help his ill father pay off some major debts. Despite their differences in operation - Richard whose cons are more in your face and he working on the premise that one needs to look rich to get rich, while Rodrigo doesn't like to bring attention to himself and thus his grifting ways - they decide to join forces. Although neither fully trusts the other, their partnership is forged on what the other can do for him: Richard figures that Rodrigo's innocent look can play to their advantage, while Rodrigo - who Richard renames "Brian" to make him seem more Caucasian and thus trustworthy - sees working with Richard as a means to get to his financial goals quicker. After some some small cons as tests to see how the other operates and to see what his strengths and weaknesses may be, they stumble onto a bigger scam which may net them somewhere in the realm of six figures. That scam is to sell a counterfeit currency note produced by one of Richard's old and less than trustworthy associates to a collector in town, they passing the note off as the rare authentic. Beyond their potential take getting diluted with each additional person that is brought in on the scam either from the plan itself or in them needing to adapt to changing circumstances, the scam gets more more complex due to the complicated relationship Richard has with his younger siblings, Valerie and Michael, who work as a concierge and a bellboy at the same upscale hotel where much of the con will take place. But as they are both con men, is one or are both working on a bigger play without the other knowing?
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I'd rate it higher had it been the original.
Rather tough to swallow, but Reilly's performance makes it fun...
American remake of the 2000 Argentinian film "Nine Queens" features John C. Reilly in a superlative performance as a sometimes-successful Los Angeles con-man who partners with a Spanish grifter he meets one morning trying to swindle waitresses in a casino; they become involved in a scheme to dupe an Irish billionaire out of 750 Gs with a rare (and counterfeit) bill of foreign currency. Director Gregory Jacobs, who also co-wrote the script with Sam Lowry (the pen name of Steven Soderbergh),wisely allows Reilly lots of room to go into his maniacal arias, which is a good thing since little else in "Criminal" quite measures up to him (certainly not that generic title!). Although the colorful supporting cast is excellent, Reilly is the spark plug to the entire picture--a fact which makes the final curtain something of a let-down. Since this house-of-cards scenario is filled with cross and double-cross, it's difficult to fault the general plotting (it's a writer's conceit, after all); however, the impetus of this story--how it all gets set into motion--is questionable by the denouement. Still, an engrossing and enjoyable film with a high-wire acting job from Reilly, which might have received a great deal more acclaim had the overall results been stronger. **1/2 from ****
A grifter takes on a new partner
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.