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Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell,
Alison Lohman, and Bruce McGill
Writers: Nicholas Griffin and Ted
Griffin
Based On The Book By: Eric Garcia
Director: Ridley Scott
Feature length: 116 minutes
Extras: Feature Length Audio
Commentary With Director/Producer Ridley Scott, Writer Nicholas Griffin, and
Writer/Producer Ted Griffin, “Tricks Of The Trade: Making Matchstick Men”
Documentary, Theatrical Trailer
Languages: English and French
Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and
Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Snap Case
Chapter Stops: 30
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 2003/DVD
Release: 2004
Theatrical Distributor: Warner
Brothers Pictures
Home Video Distributor: Warner
Home Video
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Facing approximately 8 months or
more of prep time for a project entitled “Tripoli,” Director Ridley Scott
sought out a smaller venture that was a departure from the films he normally
directs to fill in some of his down time and along came the screenplay for
“Matchstick Men.” Based on the book by Eric Garcia, “Matchstick Men”
tells the story of a con man (Nicolas Cage) that suffers from numerous nervous
ticks and phobias that suddenly discovers he had a daughter (Alison Lohman) on
the eve of his biggest and final score with his protégé (Sam Rockwell). To
complicate matters his teenage daughter wants to learn the trade from her
father, which sets him on an unexpected emotional journey and lesson.
“Matchstick Men” is a light
drama and comedy that features Scott’s signature visual style and solid
performances from everyone involved. My only caveat with the film was that the
ending felt tacked on and while given some time to digest the story and learn
the filmmakers’ intentions behind it has made me understand their reasoning
better, I still am not entirely comfortable with the last scenes in the film.
Based on information from the audio commentary with Director/Producer Ridley
Scott, Writer Nicholas Griffin, and Writer/Producer Ted Griffin, the book the
film was based on does not share the ending the film ultimately has and while I
can also agree that there are some elements that one can get away with perhaps
easier in a book than in a feature film, I can’t abide any story where the
conclusion just doesn’t fit the tone of the rest of the story. It is
interesting to note that the screenplay was originally develop for Robert
Zemeckis before the project came to Ridley Scott’s desk and while I have no
doubt that Scott’s vision of the final product is every bit as good as what
Zemeckis would have delivered, I often wonder if somehow Zemeckis might have
found a smoother manner to integrate the end of the film. This aside,
commentaries with Ridley Scott are always a pleasure to listen to since he is
very articulate and the two screenwriters also add a lot of background
information regarding the development of the script and the production of the
film.
The commentary is enhanced by the
three-part documentary “Tricks Of The Trade: Making Matchstick Men”
documentary (71:40) that illustrates in great detail with video behind the
scenes footage, the pre-production, production, and post-production of the film.
The theatrical trailer (2:26) is also included. The widescreen edition of
“Matchstick Men” presents the film in a beautiful anamorphic (2.35:1) aspect
ratio that preserves the manner in which the film was exhibited as close as
possible for home video users. A dynamic English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack is included along with English Captions and Closed Captions for the
hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles. A French Language
(dubbed in Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included as an
option.
The main menu is animated while
the subsequent menus are all standard interactive still frames and all are easy
to navigate. “Matchstick Men: Widescreen Edition” is available on DVD-Video
now at retailers on and offline from Warner Home Video.
© Copyright 2004 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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