Matchstick Men (2003) Movie Review, Cast, Crew, Summary

Matchstick Men (2003) Movie Summary

At the very least, Ridley Scott’s excessive affection with a Sony-ad-like visual cleanliness matches hero Nicolas Cage’s OCP. A modest but entertaining adventure with just three people to worry about: Nicholas Cage as his trademark oddity, Sam Rockwell as his trademark suave lowlife, and Allison Lohmann as her fawnish charm.

Key points

Matchstick Men trots along like a horse, and neither humour nor melodrama dominate character in Scott’s hands. It’s all done to a turn, even if it’s nothing very innovative. Also, behind The Pope of Greenwich Village, to whom I presume some tribute was intended, this is the second-best usage of “Summer Wind” on a soundtrack.

Matchstick Men (2003) Movie Review

Matchstick Men is a 2003 black comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and based on Eric Garcia’s 2002 novel of the same name. The Movie stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman as a trio of con artists who get involved in a complex scheme that tests their loyalty and morality. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, who praised the performances, the plot twists, and the dark humor. The film grossed $65.6 million against its $62 million budget1.

Here is a brief summary of the film:

Roy Waller (Cage) is a veteran con man who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. He works with his partner and protégé Frank Mercer (Rockwell) to scam unsuspecting people out of their money. Roy’s life changes when he meets his estranged teenage daughter Angela (Lohman), who he never knew existed.

Angela brings out a softer side of Roy, who decides to teach her some of his tricks. Meanwhile, Roy and Frank plan to pull off a big con on a wealthy businessman named Chuck Frechette (Bruce McGill), who wants to launder some money. However, things go awry when Angela gets involved in the con and Roy discovers that nothing is what it seems.

The film has a rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.3/10 on IMDb23. Some of the positive reviews are:

Roger Ebert: “The screenplay for “Matchstick Men” is an achievement of Oscar calibre – so absorbing that whenever it cuts away from “the plot,” there is another, better plot to cut to.”
Empire: “A smart, funny and surprisingly touching tale of deception and redemption, with Cage on top form as the twitchy trickster.”
Rolling Stone: “Scott directs with a light touch that’s a welcome change from his usual heavy hand. And the actors are top-notch. Cage finds the humor and the heart in Roy. Rockwell is a firecracker. And Lohman is a find.”