Focus
Rated: MA15+
Four out of five
Now showing
FOCUS is a conman movie that sets out to play the audience.
Walking in you understandably believe you’re about to watch a group of conmen, and one con woman, pull off the big con – “The one where we all retire”.
Instead you are transported into the world of the conman and the sacrifices they make in order to live the life they do.
Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have successfully managed to both con the characters and the audience, keeping everyone’s focus on the distraction until the final moment.
The whole plotline revolved around the idea of whether you can trust a conman and whether a conman should let anyone trust him.
As you may have already guessed, this becomes the heart of not only a conman movie, but a romance film as well.
Will Smith plays Nicky Spurgeon a legendary conman who is following the family business.
His elaborate operation sees his team travel around finding the ideal places and people to con in both small, pick-pocket ways and big, multimillion-dollar scam ways.
Opposite Smith as Nicky’s love interest is Hollywood’s hottest new actress and Australian, Margot Robbie, in the role of Jess Barrett.
After Robbie’s successful career boost in The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus is the perfect follow-up role for her.
While not completely unlike her portrayal of Naomi in Wolf of Wall Street, this character broadens Robbie’s acting repertoire.
Jess approaches Nicky to take her on as his protégé, in the hopes that she will go beyond small time con gigs and take on the big time.
Nicky is impressed enough to take her on for a week-long con gig in New Orleans, with the rest of her team.
Focus makes the life of a con look glamorous but not necessarily glitzy like its Oceans 11 counterpart. It almost gives the impression that this lifestyle is a viable career option.
The sets and costumes ooze with luxury and Robbie and Smith seem at home in their characters.
This is definitely worth a watch; Focus is so much more than what is expected.