John
Travolta stars as an art forger who is serving time when a gangster arranges
for him to be released from prison so he can take part in an art heist. Since his son (Tye Sheridan) is terminally
ill, he needs a big score to help pay the doctor bills. Besides, he’s not doing his son any favors rotting
in jail. Travolta’s crotchety father
(Christopher Plummer) isn’t too happy with the situation, but when the chips
are down, he pitches in to help his desperate son. While Travolta is preparing to replicate a
priceless Monet, he tries to appease his restless son by granting him a series
of wishes. Eventually, the three men
wind up bonding over the thrill of the heist.
You
might be put off just by Travolta’s appearance in this one. He looks almost as corny as he did in Killing
Season. He’s got silver streaks in his
hair, a little goatee, and he speaks in a halfhearted Boston accent. Despite that, he gives a fine performance in this
surprisingly effective little caper picture.
Travolta has a lot of chemistry with Plummer, who pretty much steals the
film. Sheridan also does a solid job and
refuses to rely on cheap theatrics to gain sympathy from the audience for his
condition.
That’s
probably the movie’s biggest strength.
It could’ve easily taken that character and his family situation and
turned into a cloying and maudlin melodrama.
It’s refreshing that Travolta, in an effort to reconnect with his son,
makes like a criminal version of the Make-A-Wish foundation as he tries to make
three of his biggest dreams come true.
Again, it ends predictably with Sheridan’s final wish being to take part
in the family heist. Even then, the
performances are strong enough that it feels more of an organic conclusion and
less a contrived machination of the screenplay.
The film is probably less successful when it focuses on the planning and
execution of the heist itself, but in its character driven moments, The Forger
is the real deal.
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