The sly grin and the twinkle in Robert Redford’s eye are still very much in evidence in his last acting role as a bank robber. No, this film is not an update of the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but he’s still a charmer. Redford plays the polite, well-dressed real-life bank robber, Forrest Tucker who was caught and jailed 30 times, and successfully escaped 18 times, including once being transferred from Alcatraz and once escaping by boat from San Quentin.
Find the thing you’re passionate about and then do it. Tucker was a professional who couldn’t find anything else he loved doing as much. That adage is true both for this film’s main character played by Robert Redford, and for the 82 year old actor himself. He picked a great role to go out on that suits him well. If this is, indeed, his last starring role, he’s going out still at the top of his game. He’s promised to continue producing and directing.
The film, headlined as “mostly true” was sparked by an article by in the New Yorker Magazine in 2003 about Tucker’s last bank robbery and his “Over the Hill gang” in the 1980’s. Writer/Director David Lowery (2017’s A Ghost Story) gives Redford every opportunity to wordlessly own the screen with long, lingering close-ups that let the audience study every crag in his face and wry smile. He remains a magnetic force on screen. Lowery paints a picture of his charm in the interviews with the bank managers and tellers he’s come into direct contact with. They all say how congenial he was while robbing them, complimenting one teller her first day on the job saying, “You’re doing a great job.”
Redford is especially charming in his scenes with the woman with the twinkle in her eye who becomes his romantic interest, Sissy Spacek, as Jewel. He stops on the side of the road, mid getaway, to help her with her stalled truck. Nice alibi. She brings out the best in Tucker and certainly, the softer side. There are no sparks, but there’s plenty of smoldering as their relationship develops. Spacek has plenty of character lines, too, but she sparkles, especially in their scenes together. The scene of their witty interplay getting to know each other in the diner is a particularly fun scene. She becomes his muse. Her character is based on the real Tucker’s 3rd wife and none of them knew he was a bank robber until he was caught.
This touching, funny, romantic bank heist trip back to the late 70’s is constructed with precision. At times the film textures are grainy, like watching 16mm film of the period. The music track also accurately brings back the nostalgia of the era. Composer Daniel Hart adds his own upbeat tempo that keeps the film moving while Tucker goes about his business in a congenial, relaxed manner, with a gentle pace. He never walks or talks fast and always goes about his business with a smile. He carries a gun, more as a prop to get what he wants, but the real Tucker never shot anyone.
Lowery chooses not to dwell on the past, even though Tucker’s criminal history dates back to his childhood. The Director shows highpoint of Tucker’s escapes on the lam from San Quentin among other stays in flashbacks. These aren’t the most important facts about Tucker’s life. We get a portrait of the man himself as well as his exploits.
Tucker’s posse include Teddy Green, played by Danny Glover, and John Waller, played by actor/musical artist, Tom Waits. They play long-time friends and robbers who appear when Director Lowery needs Redford to have on-the-job assistance, and then they’re gone. Waits, however, is given one longer scene giving his explanation of why he hates Christmas. It’s a great bit of comedy and a high point in the film.
Tucker does end up meeting his match in a couple of surprising ways. He’s comes up on the radar of a Dallas detective John Hunt, (Casey Affleck) who is determined to find Tucker after his Fort Worth bank robbery. Hunt was fascinated with Tuckers polite MO and his commitment to what he did so well, both robbing and escaping. He became a fan, of sorts, as he was determined to stop him. Affleck plays good deadpan trying to figure out Tucker’s next move.
This is a fitting swan song for Redford’s acting career if it is, indeed, his last role. Even at 82, he’s still making women’s hearts flutter. And we get to see the Sundance Kid take one satisfying last ride into the sunset.
Fox Searchlight 93 Minutes PG-13
