Second viewing; first viewed between 1983 and 1986.
Based on the non-fiction book The Big Con, by David W. Maurer (1st ed. 1940).
A con man whose partner gets killed by their latest victim's gangster boss approaches an experienced con man in the hopes of acquiring expertise in his line of activity. They decide to con the abovementioned gangster in a fake horse betting scam.
The theme is survival as a constant deceit of impending death. Set in the depression era, it only shows explicit poverty in a couple of outdoor scenes. In the rest of the movie we witness the workings of a criminal underworld inhabited by greedy outlaws and callous underlings. The protagonist guides us through the perils of contravention, leading a life of constant persecution where quick wits are essential. There is a certain infantility to the proceedings, perhaps not unlike that of the Italian criminal and Western movies of around that time. The script's construction is a case of form mirroring content the culmination of which is the ending plot twist: the viewer's identification with the deceivers is compounded with the realization he has also been deceived.
Rating: 72 (down from 85)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment