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© DR - LES ASSOCIES de Ridley Scott (2003) p4
08/11/2012 06:39
En haut,Nicolas Cage chez le psy / En bas Allison Lohman qui veut vraiment en être...
Résumé Wiki
Roy Waller est un escroc doué, mais qui souffre d'agoraphobie, de mysophobie, du trouble de personnalité obessionel-compulsif en plus d'avoir une prédisposition aux attaques de panique. Il est associé avec Franck Mercer à qui il a appris le métier. Alors qu'il décide avec réticence de consulter un psy pour se soigner*, Roy découvre qu'il a eu une fille d'une ex-compagne, et décide de la rencontrer. Celle-ci, âgée de 14 ans, n'a alors qu'une envie : devenir son élève.
*Mmmm...Il n'a pas tout compris le rédacteur là...Roy va chez le psy pour avoir une ordonnance pour les pilules qu'il a accidentellement renversées dans l'évier...Ce n'est que contraint et forcé qu'il se résigne à accepter une thérapie
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A fine brew of psychological character and crime story. A-
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
15 September 2003
Ridley Scott and Nicolas Cage deliver some of their best and most intelligent work in a few years, even if Matchstick Men is not quite either's great contribution for this year in film. What they have done, from Eric Garcia's novel (adapted by The Griffins), come off rather entertaining, if anything else, and boasts much more thought than would usually be attributed to such a Hollywood film. Nicolas Cage, who plays Roy, part anxious/obsessive compulsive, part sly con man, and part father to a daughter he never knew he had, is a main reason to see this movie.
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Ridley Scott and Nicolas Cage deliver some of their best and most intelligent work in a few years, even if Matchstick Men is not quite either's great contribution for this year in film. His performance is on par with someone like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets for watch-ability of a truly sad lifestyle, and while Nicholson's performance was and still is funnier and more charming, Cage gets so into his character, the little mannerisms that pop up more often than expected, that we feel for the guy even as his eyes get twitchy and goes over certain spots in his house like a detective. He may be the most believable obsessive compulsive/con man you'll see in a long while.
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Add then an outgoing, occasionally sneaky daughter (Alison Lohman in a performance that skillfully balances sweetness and irritability, sorrow and playfulness in a teenage girl) to the mix, along with a protégé-cum-partner (a cool Sam Rockwell) who has a love/loathe relationship Roy, and there's the map work for an interesting, if here and there predictable, drama/comedy/crime film. Along with the performances, which are all above average (Cage could be deserved of an Oscar nomination come February, and Lohman could deserve the win possibly), is the visual framework that Scott pushes in each scene.
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By getting certain camera tricks, and fantastic editing by Dody Dorn (of 'Memento' fame), the viewer can really get into Roy's head even in the smaller scenes, the ones that have little to do with the plot and only to do with the neuroses of Roy (there is even a little touch that I loved when Roy is waiting online early in the film at the supermarket, and the music in the background is an excerpt of the mental hospital music from 'Cuckoo's Nest'). This echoes the style that Scorsese used in Bringing out the Dead, also with Cage, in moving the film to get so into the mood that the story, no matter how intriguing and important, becomes secondary.
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Which brings me to my own personal beef with the movie, and that is the last fifteen minutes or so. It was clever, up to a point, but as it unfolded, no matter how much I was still emotionally involved with these people, I felt that the twists (I won't reveal them here) undermined a lot of the rest of the film. It will be based on viewer to viewer, but I just thought that it did a little too much to jab at Roy's lifestyle. And yet, when I walked out of the theater, though I wasn't sure I had seen anything spectacular, I didn't feel like I had wasted time and money either. Matchstick Men is witty, sometimes wonderful moviemaking.
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© DR - LES ASSOCIES de Ridley Scott (2003) p5
08/11/2012 06:45
Fiche technique
Titre : Les Associés
Titre original : Matchstick Men
Réalisation : Ridley Scott
Scénario : Eric Garcia,
Nicholas Griffin & Ted Griffin
Production : Sean Bailey et Ted Griffin
Musique : Hans Zimmer
(additionnel : James Michael Dooley,
Mel Wesson,Geoff Zanelli,Clay Duncan,
Trevor Morris et Heitor Pereira)
Photographie : John Mathieson
Montage : Dody Dorn
Pays d'origine : États-Unis
Langue : anglais
Format : Couleurs - 2,35:1 -
DTS / Dolby Digital / SDDS - 35 mm
Genre : Policier
Durée : 116 minutes
Date de sortie : 17 sep 2003
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Wonderful 'Sting' Film with a Twist!
Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada
12 September 2003
Anyone who thinks director Ridley Scott doesn't have a gentler side (after all, GLADIATOR, HANNIBAL, and BLACK HAWK DOWN are not exactly 'touchy-feely' movies) may be in for a surprise with his latest, MATCHSTICK MEN. The story of extremely neurotic but brilliant con man Nicolas Cage ("I'm not a criminal," he explains to his shrink, "Criminals hurt people; I don't..."), discovering a daughter he never knew he had (Alison Lohman, of WHITE OLEANDER), on the eve of a big 'Sting', offers as much emphasis on his acceptance
of his new parental responsibilities as on the caper he and his partner (the always watchable Sam Rockwell) are pulling off.
Cage plays the role brilliantly, making his quirky character sympathetic, and Scott proves again why he is one of Hollywood's premier directors.The success of a film like this depends on the chemistry between the leads, and Cage and Lohman are terrific together.The young actress manages to be 'sweet' without being 'innocent', and the tentative steps she and Cage take to understand each other are both believable, and touching. In one scene, he attempts to prove to her that he can cook by preparing a spaghetti dinner...after one bite, the scene shifts to the arrival of the Domino's delivery boy!
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Ultimately, however, MATCHSTICK MEN is a tale of 'The Con', and Cage and Rockwell's 'Sting' against 'fat cat' Bruce McGill, while appearing deceptively simple, has a series of twists and turns, leading to a climax that is both stunning and unexpected. This is the kind of movie that will have you putting pieces together, LONG after it ends.It is an intriguing and rewarding film, and shouldn't be missed!
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42 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Nice change of pace for Ridley!
Author: Thomas Jolliffe (supertom-3) from Marlow, England
24 February 2004
The latest effort from Ridley Scott equates to Spielberg's latest, Catch Me If You Can. It is a nice, technically simple film that follows their more epic, effects, and set piece driven movies preceding them. Spielberg followed Minority Report and AI, whereas Scott is following Gladiator, Hannibal and Black Hawk Down. It is a nice and welcome change of pace for a master director, as CMIYC was to Spielberg.The film stars Nicholas Cage, who is making up for some lost years thanks to his role here and of course in Adaptation. Cage plays an obsessive compulsive con man who has an obsession of cleanliness and a fear germs and wide open spaces, and is hyped up on prescription drugs. Cage is superb here, it is a great performance, amusing and likeable.
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This is the sort of quirky character that brings the best out of Nic Cage. Co-starring as Cages partner in crime is the up and coming Sam Rockwell. I have been a fan of his since I first saw him in Charlie's Angels and then in his best role thus far in Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. He was superb in Confessions and looks like he could be a top new star(Mwouais)Rockwell plays his character here with panache. Also starring as Cages daughter who turns up out the blue is Alison Lohman. Lohman is playing a 14 year old, who Cage has never seen and didn't know of at the start of the film.
Lohman is much older in real life and so playing a 14 year is something she can do well but with the maturity and actress of that actual age may not have. Lohman is a lovely presence, she is charming and sweet and endearing to the audience, she is also a good young actress.The film is funny, charming and simplistic. It doesn't tax too much and is a quick and pleasant, much like junk food, only more good for you. I love it when Scott does his big epic and more elaborate films but this is a good change of pace, that Scott must have really enjoyed. It is something he could do with his eyes closed compared to say Gladiator.The film is well paced and there is a great twist that lets the film end on a real high. This is a good use of a great cast, and imaginatively edited. Overall a pleasing viewing. ****
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© DR - LES ASSOCIES de Ridley Scott (2003) p6
08/11/2012 06:52
Photo du bas Sam Rockwell (LA LIGNE VERTE / ILS VONT TOUS BIEN / CONFESSIONS D'UN HOMME...etc-(j'ai du mal avec ce mec,mais c'est surtout epidermique...Toutefois,néanmoins,pourtant,mais,ceci dit,quand même,à part ça....je reconnais qu'il est pas mal dans le film
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Nick Cage is awsome!
Author: tpcomputerman from Philadelphia
20 September 2003
Reviewing a movie like Matchstick Men is tough because it's a con movie and as such I really can't go into the plot all that much. So, I'll just give a quick little synopsis of the plot, but really if you've seen any trailers for the movie, you know the plot pretty well.Nicolas Cage plays Roy, a con man (or, as he likes to say, a Con Artist!) who has a lot of problems.For one,he's a compulsive cleaner,he hates the outdoors and he has lot of ticks Roy needs medication to keep him sane.
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One day he knocks his pills into the sink and when he calls his doctor to get more he finds out that his doctor is no longer in town! This provides one of the funnier/saddest part of the movie. I'm not sure if it was suppose to be played up for laughs or not, the tone was kind of hard to tell, but Roy spend the next day and a half cleaning his house, his ticks got worst and well it made me feel kind of bad for him.His partner Frank, played by Sam Rockwell provides him with the number for another psychologist who can help. Roy goes to the psychologist thinking that it'll be easy, to just ask for the pills and he'll get them.
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No, this guy wants to help Roy and will not give him any pills until he talks.Which,I must say,shows two things One, Nick Cage is great when he plays these type of rolls, and two, he's damn funny. What he tells the psychologist was both funny and sad. During that time though it's reviled that Roy was married at one time, and when his wife left she was pregnant and he doesn't know what happen to the child who would be 14 by now.After getting the pills (only a weeks worth mind you) Roy decides to find out about his daughter, but he can't because he's too scared, so after getting the number of his ex wife he asks his psychologist to make the call when he can.
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Later that night he gets a call from him and finds out that he has a daughter who wants to meet him.That's as far as I'll go with the plot because the movie really picks up from there as he bonds with his new daughter and sets up a really complex and dangerous con.Like I said, Nick Cage is great in the movie, but I also want to point out that his daughter, Angela (played by Alison Lohman) was just fantastic to watch. She really lit up the screen when she smiled and it looked like Alison Lohman was just having a ball playing her. She was your typical 14 year old (only, and this shocked me when I found out, Alison Lohman is 24 years old!
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If you watch it, keep that in mind and tell me she doesn't look like a 14 year old.) who knew just how to work her dad! Some of the funnier moments came after he would yell at her, then she'd start to cry and Roy would just completely collapse and start apologizing for what he said, even if he was completely right! It was just really funny.Matchstick Men isn't a fast paced movie, it's more of a character study between Roy and Angela and how she changes his life and makes him reprioritizes his values and the way he runs his life.
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© DR - LES ASSOCIES de Ridley Scott (2003) p7
08/11/2012 07:08
Je n'ai pas trouvé grand chose question texte,en revanche pas mal d'images,nettes,de bonne qualité Comment ? Mais si! mais si! on devrait TOUT avoir...tout l'temps.Point barre
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Start and end very good
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The little problem that 'Matchstick Men' has is that there is not a real highpoint in the movie if the ending wasn't there.(?..yep but the ending IS there i don't get your point) I think the movie starts as a very good movie. Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) and Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell) are con artists and the movie opens with showing how they collect some money. It is not as great as how George Clooney does it in 'Out of Sight' but it's a lot of fun.(but...AUCUN rapport!?) After this the movie shows who Roy is, a guy with all kind of weird things. Spasms, panic attacks, compulsive behavior. He wants things clean, he wants things a certain way, or he becomes a little crazy. He has pills for these things but he loses them and this is how he meets Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman), a psychiatrist.
Because of him Roy learns he has a 14-year old daughter Angela (Alison Lohman, who was actually 24). He wants to care for her, spend time with her, and even reveals what he really is. In a great scene she shows her father and us how she would be if she had the same job as Roy. Roy and Frank have a big job planned where they would collect 80,000 dollars from a guy named Frechette (Bruce McGill). In a way they are taking money but Roy looks at it differently. He thinks, and he is actually right, that they just give it to him. Because it is all illegal they can't complain after they are cheated.
Hoe these three big stories fit in one you have to see for yourself. The middle part is a little slow, but the ending makes up for that. All characters are played very well and Nicolas Cage is great. Ridley Scott has made another fine movie.
(Mwouais...prêcher le pour et le contre / puis le contre et le pour...
casse pas des briques ton intervention dude)
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© DR - LES ASSOCIES de Ridley Scott (2003) p8
08/11/2012 07:13
Cast
Nicolas Cage : Roy Waller
Sam Rockwell : Frank Mercer
Alison Lohman : Angela
Bruce Altman : Docteur Klein
Bruce McGill : Chuck Frechette
Jenny O'Hara : madame Schaffer
Steve Eastin : monsieur Schaffer
Beth Grant : la femme de la laverie
Sheila Kelley : Kathy
Fran Kranz : Slacker Boyfriend
Tim Kelleher : l'inspecteur Bishop
Kim Cassidy : la strip-teaseuse
Nigel Gibbs : Holt
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Great Movie! - Intriguing characters
Author: Quentin from Vancouver, BC
26 February 2004
*
I found this movie exciting & fun to watch from beginning to end. The relationship between father & daughter was extremely heartfelt and made the movie tops in my books. Amazing performance by Alison Lohman; I can't wait to see her in Big Fish. One of Nicolas Cage's better performances. In retrospect the plot is a bit far-fetched but makes up with excellent character development and emotion. Perfect movie for a father/daughter to watch together. I easily give it 9/10.
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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Nic Cage's greatest acting
Author: nixskits from Canada
13 December 2009
*
I know he won an Oscar for another film (don't get me started on that!), but this performance is really the one I regard as his crowning achievement. He's so convincing as a man who's totally out of control even when he appears to be in control that it's like a spinning top which doesn't really look like it's moving fast at all.
Sam Rockwell and Cage are partners, if you can call Cage's tic laden role a man who ever really connects with anybody at all. They con for a living and are quite accomplished at the game. So when his new challenge, a teenage daughter he had no contact with up till now, enters and shakes up his OCD world, this walking, talking repetitive routine he calls life gets flipped over into something resembling a normal existence.
The great Bruce McGill appears as someone you don't want to cross, unless it's out of his way to avoid the inevitable trouble. He fakes humbleness and charisma perfectly until the cobra he really is gets uncoiled and strikes.
This is an odd choice for Ridley Scott to direct. I'm glad he made it, as this film is as great socio-comedically as "Blade Runner" was poignantly techno-emotional. "Matchstick Men" gets under your skin, in funny and tragic ways, usually simultaneously. There really are men out there like Cage's Roy, as disturbing as that might be. Here Cage gets to be a three dimensional person and not just the human function of a lame action formula.
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