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Life of Crime (film)

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Life of Crime
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaniel Schechter
Written byDaniel Schechter
Based onThe Switch
by Elmore Leonard
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEric Alan Edwards
Edited byDaniel Schechter
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 15, 2013 (2013-09-15) (TIFF)
  • August 29, 2014 (2014-08-29) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million[3]
Box office$1.5 million[4]

Life of Crime is a 2013 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Daniel Schechter, based on Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch (1978), which includes characters later revisited in his novel Rum Punch (1992), which was adapted into the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997). Life of Crime was screened on the closing night 2013 Toronto International Film Festival,[5] on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival,[6] at the 2014 Traverse City Film Festival[7] and released in theaters on August 29, 2014 by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Plot

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As the movie opens in late-1970's Detroit, Louis and his friend Ordell lure the man who just robbed Louis of 27 dollars into the street to run him over and recover the cash. The two plan to kidnap Mickey, wife of corrupt real estate developer Frank Dawson, and ransom her for 1 million dollars, knowing Frank must avoid police involvement or risk exposure of his real estate crimes. Louis reconnoiters Mickey from a distance as she takes her son Bo to play tennis at the country club, and accidentally encounters her face-to-face. Mickey rebuffs the adulterous advances of Marshall Taylor, a married man who does some work for Frank.

With Frank and Bo both out-of-town, Ordell and Louis arrive masked at the Dawson house and take Mickey by surprise in the kitchen. Marshall turns up unexpectedly and Ordell and Louis subdue him and lock him in a closet, before departing with Mickey. They take her to the house of Nazi admirer Richard, where she is locked in a room and kept blindfolded to protect her captors' identities. Louis bandages her foot caringly and conscientiously from a cut sustained during the kidnapping.

Meanwhile, Frank and his mistress Melanie enjoy themselves at the Dawsons' apartment in Freeport, Bahamas. Ordell calls Frank, establishes the credibility of the kidnapping with Mickey's voice, and demands a 1 million dollar ransom. The kidnappers are surprised by Frank's lack of concern, unaware as they (and Mickey) are that he has already sent Mickey divorce papers and is planning to marry Melanie, and Mickey's murder would thus save him both ransom and years of spousal support. Louis exposes Frank's lack of concern, history of embezzlement, and adultery to Mickey who sees his face and remembers him from the country club. Melanie screens Frank's calls to prevent Ordell and Louis' attempts to reach him, and the men discuss their options as Mickey eavesdrops through vents and doors.

Marshall returns to the Dawsons' to clean up after himself and encounters Richard who he believes is a police officer, triggering an altercation that ends with Richard shooting at Marshall's car. Ordell and his friend Cedric go to Freeport and find Melanie at the pool while Frank is away. Melanie clues Ordell in on the impending divorce and proposes a deal that the kidnappers get $100000 or more if Mickey dies. Ordell and Melanie have a romantic encounter. Intending to kill Mickey but sensing Louis' tenderness towards her, Ordell calls and instructs Richard and Louis to return Mickey to her home, secretly telling Richard to go back in and kill her afterwards.

Richard tries to rape Mickey while Louis is out stealing a car, but is interrupted by Louis' return. Louis assaults Richard and then he and Mickey flee. As Richard chases the pair, shooting at their departing car, he is hit by a police car. Mickey and Louis talk over marijuana and beers at his apartment before he returns her home. Upon Frank's return, Mickey confronts him about the ransom, the divorce, the $1 million, and Melanie. Frank denies everything, claiming he knew the kidnappers were bluffing while Mickey insists they both know the truth. Mickey visits Louis and Ordell, finds Melanie with them, and says that Frank still intends to divorce her and spend his life with Melanie. While Melanie visits to the bathroom, Mickey, Louis and Ordell hatch a new plan, and when Melanie re-emerges, all three wear masks and appear ready to kidnap Melanie for ransom.

Cast

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Production

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Dennis Quaid was originally cast as Frank Dawson, Mickey's husband.[8]

Principal photography lasted 26 days. The major portion of the film was shot in Greenwich, Connecticut.[9] Tod A. Maitland did the sound mixing.

Reception

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Life of Crime received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 68% of 81 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "It may not stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best Elmore Leonard adaptations, but Life of Crime has enough ambling charm—and a sharp enough cast—to get by."[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[11]

Catherine Shoard of The Guardian praised Schecter for his "unexpectedly winning take" on Leonard's novel and the "top-notch" performances from the cast, highlighting Aniston for her "deft comic timing" and Hawkes for being "surprisingly convincing" in his role, concluding that: "This is a good-natured, show-not-tell treat, almost bloodless fun."[12] Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com called it "a pretty engaging, and [pretty] authentically Leonardesque, comedic crime movie" and praised the ensemble cast's performances, singling out Aniston's part for being "measured, engrossing, and empathy-generating" without any "sitcom-style" mannerisms, concluding that: "The amusing twists and turns of the script, the multiple instances of bracing humor and consistent tension, help the cast bring this small-scale thriller to the place it clearly wants to be. Well worth seeing, particularly for Leonard people."[13] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times wrote that it pales in comparison to Jackie Brown and found Bey to be "droll" as Ordell Robbie, but called it a "late-summer caper movie" that settles into its groove and offers an "intriguing contrast of actors and a director taking a different approach to known material."[14]

Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post commended Hawkes and Bey for doing "an adequate job" portraying their characters but felt the story they inhabit was "noticeably sluggish and spiritless" compared to Tarantino's film, and lacked a sense of urgency in its overall setup.[15] Steve Macfarlane of Slant Magazine criticized Schecter for crafting his film with "obnoxiously self-aware period detail" and a "too-rich soundtrack" when compared to American Hustle and felt the performances had an "undeniably comparable dramatic weightlessness" to them, highlighting Aniston for being miscast in her role and giving "a long, bland starring performance in an Indiewood dramedy."[16] Entertainment Weekly's Chris Nashawaty gave the movie a "C−" grade, calling it one of the worst Leonard adaptations based on Schecter's "lifeless" filmmaking, and backhandedly complimenting its "kitschy" production for distracting viewers away from the rest of the film.[17]

References

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  1. ^ McClintock, Pamela; Siegel, Tatiana (September 11, 2013). "Toronto: Elmore Leonard's 'Life of Crime' Selling to Lionsgate, Roadside". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "LIFE OF CRIME (15)". Artificial Eye. British Board of Film Classification. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "Life of Crime (2013)". IMDb. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  4. ^ "Life of Crime (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Nelson Mandela biopic to have world premiere at Toronto". BBC News. 23 July 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  6. ^ "Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2013 opens with Life of Crime". The National. Abu Dhabi. October 2013.
  7. ^ "Traverse City Film Fest to feature Elmore Leonard premiere, screenings on the water". Detroit Free Press.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Matt (February 16, 2012). "Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid Join Jackie Brown Prequel, Switch". Collider. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  9. ^ "Jennifer Aniston: Bundled Up on "Untitled Elmore Leonard Project" Set". GossipCenter. February 5, 2013. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  10. ^ "Life of Crime". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 14, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  11. ^ "Life of Crime". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Shoard, Catherine (September 4, 2014). "Life of Crime review – a good-natured, unexpectedly winning treat". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Kenny, Glenn (August 29, 2014). "Life of Crime". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  14. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (August 28, 2014). "Husband of Kidnap Victim: Take My Wife, Please". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  15. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (August 28, 2014). "'Life of Crime' movie review: When ransom goes wrong". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  16. ^ Macfarlane, Steve (August 28, 2014). "Review: Life of Crime". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (September 3, 2014). "Life of Crime". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
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