Robert Redford is an actor who I have criminally overlooked for the longest time. Before I saw The Old Man and the Gun (2018) I had only seen one other film with him in it, and that film was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) where Redford plays the titular Sundance Kid in what has become a cinematic classic. Despite the classic status of this film and the legendary status that Redford has carved out for himself in Hollywood this had been the only film of his I had seen. I knew of his talent as an actor and the respect that he commanded within acting circles for his career, but I had never been particularly motivated to go out and see many if any of his films. The Old Man and the Gun has made me realise what I have been missing out on. The film is based off the true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford) who escaped prison at the age of 70 and went on a series of successful bank heists. The film follows Tucker as he plans and carries out these heists and is pursued by Police Detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) who is determined to put Tucker behind bars. In the midst of this game of cat and mouse is a budding relationship between Tucker and Jewel (Sissy Spacek), an older single woman who Tucker meets when he is evading the police, using Jewells broken down car as an evasive tactic against the pursuing police. The film then shows the inner battle of Tucker as he tries to decide between his love of bank heists and a desire to settle down with Jewel.
This film is not a film which is going to get your heart racing at any point despite the several bank heists that occur throughout its ninety-three-minute run time. It is a slow-moving film with a steady pace that is much more about the characters and the relationships between the characters than any kind of action set pieces. There are a couple of car chases which is almost amount to full blooded action sequences, but even these are much more just set pieces designed to develop character rather than get the heart pounding. This is not a negative of the film of course as the film is not really about these heists at all. It is a film about age, with all three central characters being affected by age differently. Jewel has realised with her age that she may have taken life for granted and is now willing to do things she may have thought twice about when she was younger, John Hunt, who has just turned 40 at the films beginning, is struggling with the prospect of aging and is battling his own feelings with that, and Tucker defies his age, earning admiration and notoriety due to the fact he is committing these crimes at these age. It is a film which explores these themes of age and how all the characters are defined or not defined by their age.
As you have probably guessed from my description of the film so far it is a film that derives its strength almost completely from its performances and it is very strong in this department. The direction of the film and editing of the film is extremely understated and although there are some very nice shots that are composed well and look very nice, but they are not the forefront of the film, nor re they ever intended to be. The film is shot in a way that allows the performances to take centre stage and be at the forefront rather than being visually stimulating, and the performances are more than good enough to hold the film up on their own. Casey Affleck is very good as John Hunt, with his performance of the character being quite complex. When we first meet the character, we see him struggling to come to terms with turning 40 and all the jokes and jibes that come his way due to this. In these moments we see him as a quite weakened downtrodden man, but as he gets involved with the Tucker case, he becomes stronger and more confident and is an almost changed man by the end of the film, no longer hung up on his age and somewhat inspired by Ticker himself. But the star performers are Spacek and Redford who are just wonderful throughout. Every moment between them is gripping, heart-warming and, maybe most importantly, feels real. These two actors sink into their performances, becoming the characters they are playing rather than being actors performing. Redford has much more impact on the film as he is involved in almost every scene, but it is the moments with Spacek that are the parts of the film where it is at its strongest. This film could have just been these two having several conversations for the entire runtime and I would have been more than satisfied.
The Old Man and the Gun is a film that is enjoyable but doesn't really have enough about to be considered brilliant in my view. This may be that the story of the film is not the most gripping, it may be that the visual style, editing or score are not entirely inspiring, or it may be down to my own personal film preferences as to what I like and dislike, but I cannot say that I believe the film is any better than very good. However, there is one brilliant aspect of the film and that is in the performances which across the board a great but are stellar in the case of Robert Redford nd Sissy Spacek. Their performances are just fantastically gripping and powerful, and you can't take your eyes off them for one moment and it is for that reason I would recommend you watch this film even if it is just the once. As for me, although the film probably won't be making my top ten of the year list, it has inspired me to go out and see more of Redford’s career, because if he acts in all his films like he does in this one then I will be more than entertained and wowed.