The Lookout

The Lookout
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Scott Frank
Written by	Scott Frank
Starring	Joseph Gordon-Levitt Jeff Daniels Matthew Goode Isla Fisher Bruce McGill
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Alar Kivilo
Editing by	Jill Savitt
Studio	Spyglass Entertainment
Distributed by	Miramax Films (USA); Buena Vista International (Non-USA)
Release date(s)	March 30, 2007
Running time	99 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$16,000,000
Box office	$5,371,181 (Worldwide)

The Lookout is a 2007 crime film written and directed by Scott Frank, screenwriter of Out of Sight and Get Shorty, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, and Isla Fisher.

The Lookout is the directorial debut of the screenwriter Scott Frank. It was produced by Birnbaum/Barber, Laurence Mark Productions, Parkes/MacDonald Productions, Spyglass Entertainment, and Miramax Films. Miramax distributes the film in the USA, and Buena Vista International elsewhere.

Plot

While driving with his headlights off down a country highway, Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his girlfriend Kelly (Laura Vandervoort) and two friends crash into a stalled combine on the road. Chris and Kelly survive, but the other two do not. Chris' injuries include brain damage that affects his short-term memory in the form similar to anterograde amnesia.

He's in classes to learn new skills, including the simple sequences of daily tasks, to compensate for his inability to remember, and keeps notes in a small notebook. Challenged by a tough case manager (Carla Gugino) to build a life despite his injuries, he is supported by his roommate, a blind man named Lewis (Jeff Daniels), but receives only financial support from his wealthy family. He works nights, cleaning a small-town bank, with regular visitations from Ted (Sergio Di Zio), a bumbling sheriff's deputy. Chris aspires to train as a teller, but the bank manager, Mr. Tuttle (David Huband), can barely hide his contempt for Chris' ambitions. It is there Chris comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. Their leader, Gary (Matthew Goode), who knew him from high school and resented his wealth and popularity as a hockey star before his accident, befriends him and uses a young woman, Luvlee (Isla Fisher), to seduce him. Taunted by the gang about the limitations of his life since the accident, he initially goes along with the scheme. His frustrations trickle down into confrontations with his friends, Lewis and Ted.

When the gang arrives the night of the robbery, Chris tells them he has changed his mind. But they tell him it's too late and force him to empty the vault at gunpoint. His friend Ted, the deputy, stumbles into the robbery while delivering doughnuts to Chris, and triggers a shootout. The deputy and two of the gang members, Marty (Morgan Kelly) and Cork (Aaron Berg), are killed. Meanwhile Chris escapes in the getaway car, and when he realizes he's got the money they stole, he returns compulsively to the site of his accident, where he buries the money. Gary is wounded and gets away with the other bank robber, Bone (Greg Dunham). When Chris returns to his apartment he sees the lights on and realizes something is wrong, and when he calls discovers Gary and Bone have taken Lewis hostage to get the money back. Chris, using his new sequencing skills, hatches a plan to stay alive and save his friend. But the robbers literally catch him napping at the place they were to meet, and they force him to take them to the site of the buried cash.

While Chris digs in the snow to retrieve the money, Gary's condition is rapidly deteriorating. Chris gives one of two bags to Bone, who is preparing to execute Lewis, but Chris pulls out a shotgun he had hidden in the other bag and shoots Bone before he can react. Gary collapses and dies from blood loss. Chris returns the money and turns himself in, but the investigation by the FBI concludes that he was not responsible due to his mental state - and because the robbers failed to disconnect the video surveillance in the bank, allowing the FBI to see the gang forcing Chris to act at gunpoint.

In the end we see that Chris and Lewis have reconciled, and found a way to open up the restaurant they had dreamed about together.

Cast

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Chris Pratt
• Jeff Daniels as Lewis
• Matthew Goode as Gary Spargo
• Isla Fisher as Luvlee Lemons
• Carla Gugino as Janet
• Bruce McGill as Robert Pratt
• Alberta Watson as Barbara Pratt
• Alex Borstein as Mrs. Lange
• Sergio Di Zio as Deputy Ted
• David Huband as Mr. Tuttle
• Laura Vandervoort as Kelly
• Greg Dunham as Bone
• Morgan Kelly as Marty
• Aaron Berg as Cork
• Tinsel Korey as Maura
• Suzanne Kelly as Nina
• Brian Edward Roach as Danny
• Martin Roach as Loan Officer
• Ofield Williams as Reggie
• Julie Pederson as Attractive Woman in Bar
• Stephen Eric McIntyre as Bartender
• Janaya Stephens as Alison Pratt
• Marc Devigne as Cameron Pratt

Production notes

Although set near Kansas City, Missouri, the bank in the movie was filmed in the town of Hartney, Manitoba, misspelled Harney in the credits, using the town's Museum, and city scenes were filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most notably, scenes of the skating rink were filmed behind the Millennium Library, and the exterior of Chris' apartment was filmed in the Exchange District and various historic sites in Winnipeg including the Bank of Montreal (1911-13) , the Ambassador Apartments (1909), the interior of the Market Building (1899) and the James Ashdown House at 529 Wellington (1913). The Ambassador Apartments appear on the film's cover.

Reception

From critics the film has earned an aggregated score of 87% at Rotten Tomatoes (154 reviews), 73/100 at Metacritic (32 reviews), and "B" at Yahoo Movies (13 reviews). Particularly favorable reviews came from Richard Roeper and Leonard Maltin, who praised the film as "the best movie so far" of the first half of 2007.

The Lookout won the award for Best First Feature at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.

Soundtrack

The score was composed by James Newton Howard and was his first collaboration with director Scott Frank. Frequent collaborators Stuart Michael Thomas and Clay Duncan are credited with additional music. The score was orchestrated by Brad Dechter, Stuart Michael Thomas, and Chris P. Bacon, who also conducted. Several songs were featured including "One Big Holiday" and "Lay Low", both performed by My Morning Jacket.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived April 20, 2007)
• The Lookout at AllRovi
• The Lookout at Box Office Mojo
• The Lookout at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lookout at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Director Interviews: Scott Frank, The Lookout at Filmmaker Magazine