Matchstick Men

Matchstick Men (2003) is about a con man with obsessive compulsive disorder. Roy lives off small frauds; with his partner Frank he sells people fake prizes over the phone. He cannot leave the house, cleans every mark on the carpet, opens and closes the door three times, and has panic attacks outside. When his medication runs out he goes to a therapist, who suggests he look for the daughter he abandoned years ago. Angela, who is fourteen, turns up at the door. The first half is a father and daughter story. She stays, disturbs his order, and at some point wants to learn the work. He teaches her. In the second half the film becomes something else, which we will not describe; but every detail of the first half has to be reconsidered. Ridley Scott directed and it is among his smallest films; the usual visual weight is absent. Nicolas Cage plays the compulsions without exaggeration; the tics are not a display but a constant fatigue. Alison Lohman was twenty three at the time and played a fourteen year old. It is adapted from Eric Garcia's novel. It did not do well commercially. It runs 116 minutes. Good for: con man films, character drama, and twist narrative. Less good for: knowing the twist weakens it badly and the first half is slow.