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Joseph Gordon-Levitt was immensely impressive in 2005's high school neo-noir Brick (released here in 2006), and he again proves his credentials in The Lookout, another film that bears some hallmarks of the film noir genre. Gordon-Levitt is Chris Pratt, a budding athlete who through his own stupidity crashes his car at night. He narrowly escapes death but is left with a form of amnesia that means he has to write down everything in his day to day routine (there are some clear echoes of Memento, then). A few years after the crash, he has an undemanding job as a night cleaner of a small town bank, and aspires to greater things but his mental disability restricts and infuriates him. Thus he is coerced by the leader of an unsavoury gang (British newcomer Matthew Goode, who gives a performance worthy of attention) to assist in a heist of said bank, but of course his conscience keeps nagging away at him.
The inner conflict of the protagonist and the framed innocent theme are not the only noir staples employed. A femme fatale, of sorts, is involved too, in the form of Isla Fisher, who is part of the plot to lure Chris into the scheme. Unfortunately, Fisher's character arc feels abruptly cut short; she literally disappears around the transition from second to third act, never to be seen again. It's a strange development as the antecedents are in place for her to have an influence on the final outcome but it never happens. Nevertheless, the denouement is otherwise well handled and exciting, and is aided by the earlier development of the characters. Chris' reaction to such a debilitating but invisible condition is highly believable and, despite some less than appealing character traits, Gordon-Levitt engages our sympathy. Jeff Daniels takes a supporting role as a blind man who shares a flat with Chris and acts as a sort of father/brother figure to him, with each of them compensating for the other's weakness. Daniels gives one of the more convincing portrayals of a visually impaired person, avoiding the typical "stare in one place whole time to make it look like I'm blind" routine. The role is certainly something of a departure for Daniels but he absolutely pulls it off.
The film's plot holes and irregularities do hurt it in the long run, however. For example, Chris is allowed to drive a car despite his condition – which means that he can forget even the smallest little things – and the nature of his accident, which would normally lead to a substantial driving ban by itself. Secondly, the nature of his amnesia is inconsistent; he remembers some things, like the faces and names of people he has met since the accident, but not others, such as where the tin opener is kept. It sometimes gives the impression that writer-director Scott Frank just lets him forget things when it works for the plot and remember things when it would be inconvenient not to. In spite of these flaws, The Lookout remains engaging and quite engrossing. Frank, whose directorial debut it is, shows that he knows how to construct a compelling narrative and create effective suspense. In all likelihood, however, The Lookout will be a film that satisfies when watched but fails to linger in the memory.
The summary
The Lookout is thoroughly well made and features several noteworthy performances but doesn't leave much of an impression. A quality diversion nonetheless.
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