2011 Sundance Film Festival review of The Convincer - Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin butt heads in playful scam comedy.
Kinnear and Arkin make a funny pair in con artist comedy ‘Convincer'
(3 out of 5 stars)
All eyes are focused on Wisconsin these days due to the Green Bay Packers winning Super Bowl XLV and returning the Vince Lombardi to Green Bay. Arriving in perfect tandem with the Wisconsin hoopla is The Convincer, the latest movie from director and Wisconsin daughter Jill Sprecher and a playful hybrid of past art-house favorites Fargo and The Usual Suspects. Recently debuting in the Premieres section of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Jill and her sibling co-writer Karen Sprecher reunite Little Miss Sunshine co-stars Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin for a playful con artist comedy that makes the most out of their likable leads as well as a satisfying, climactic twist.
Available for pick-up from the production company Werc Werk Works, The Convincer is a solid directing effort by Jill Sprecher and a welcome shift in genre from her previous movies Clockwatchers and Thirteen Conversations about One Thing.
Trying to keep his small insurance office afloat is proving difficult for Mickey Prohaska (Kinnear) especially since his wife Joann (Lea Thompson) tossed him out of their house. Luckily, a recent hire (David Harbour) lands a new client, a retired farmer who lives alone named Gordy Hauer (Arkin). It’s not the policy commission that has Mickey excited. Gordy owns a rare violin without any knowledge of its true worth. Mickey plots to steal the violin from Gordy but before he can complete his theft matters quickly spin out of control. If there’s a lesson to The Convincer it’s to avoid elderly Wisconsin farmers. They are not the rubes you believe them to be.
Kinnear strikes the right balance of likable charm and egotistical attitude as Mickey, a small-town insurance agent who mistakenly believes he’s the smartest guy in town. Although Arkin’s Wisconsin accent is grating at times as Gorvy, he’s perfectly at ease as the lonely farmer who appears oblivious to Mickey’s attempts to swindle him out of a valuable antique. In many ways, Arkin is the pillar of the movie and it’s fun to see him play such a pivotal rule in terms of the film’s final surprises.
Billy Crudup shows his talent for comedy via his solid supporting work as a locksmith who crosses paths with Mickey. David Harbour complements Kinnear’s character perfectly as an honest insurance agent who wants what’s best for his elderly client and Bob Balaban makes the most of his brief scenes as a violin dealer. Michelle Arthur enjoys some light-hearted moments as Mickey’s under- appreciated office secretary as does Lea Thompson as Mickey’s fed-up wife.
After two female-driven movies it’s impressive to watch the Sprecher sisters change creative gears and write-up an original story involving boys behaving badly. The dead-on casting of Kinnear and Arkin help the film immensely. If there’s a fault to the film, it’s that Jill Sprecher takes too much time to build up to the film’s best surprises. Thankfully, The Convincer climaxes with its best dramatic twists and leaved audiences wanting more.
Veteran cinematographer Dick Pope makes stunning use of the film’s Minnesota locations (standing in for Wisconsin) and its flat, open sky landscapes. Bela Fleck compliments the twisty storytelling with a lively score. Still, the best efforts belong to the Sprecher sisters who collaborate on their first feature film since Thirteen Conversations in 2002.
Proven to be a likable crowd please at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, The Convincer remains an attractive pick up for a distributor confident it can market a con-artist comedy starring Kinnear and Arkin. Nobody’s saying the two stars from Little Miss Sunshine can repeat that film’s phenomenal success. Still, The Convincer has enough commercial appeal to attract specialty film fans interested in a comic diversion from grittier art-house fare.
Distributor: TBD
Director: Jill Sprecher
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour, Lea
Thompson, Bob Balaban, Michelle Arthur
Screenplay: Jill Sprecher, Karen Sprecher
Editor: Stephen Mirrione
Cinematographer: Dick Pope
Producer: Werc Werk Works
Rating: TBD
Running time: 109 minutes
Release Date: TBD