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Matchstick Men
2003 116 min United Kingdom, United States of America PG-13 18+
★7.3
Comedy, Drama, Crime, Thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
📖 Based on the novel
«Matchstick Men»
byEric Garcia
Trailers
EN
EN
Description
A phobic con artist and his protege are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the con artist's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.
Budget:
$62M
US Gross:
$36.91M
Worldwide:
$65.57M
Starring
Nicolas Cage
Actor
Alison Lohman
Actor
Sam Rockwell
Actor
Awards
5 nominations total
Key opinion
Matchstick Men is a character-driven crime drama that prioritizes emotional development and personal redemption over the mechanics of the con. While audiences largely praise the lead performances and the film's thoughtful conclusion, critics are divided over the deliberate pacing and whether the story successfully balances its disparate genre elements.
| Acting | Nicolas Cage delivers a masterfully nuanced performance, effectively embodying his character's obsessive-compulsive tics and deep-seated paranoia. | |
| Direction | Ridley Scott’s direction provides a polished, visually dynamic foundation that successfully elevates the material beyond a standard crime thriller. | |
| Acting | Alison Lohman is widely praised for her ability to bring a sense of youthful luminosity and emotional weight to the daughter subplot. | |
| Pacing | The film's pacing is polarizing; some viewers find the contemplative tempo and focus on character dynamics immersive, while others view it as tedious or sluggish. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is divisive: supporters appreciate its pivot toward moral growth and human relationships, while detractors feel it undermines the expectations of a high-stakes heist movie. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the ending range from satisfaction with its emotional resolution and clever twist to frustration regarding its predictability or lack of sufficient drama. |