Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt, Franky G.
“Putting on a con is like putting on a big play where the only one that doesn’t know their part is the mark”.
One of grifter, Jake Vig’s [Ed Burns] words of wisdom if you will. Regardless of what seems to be going erroneous around him, he still seems to have his finger on the pulse – even if it doesn’t look that way. It’s all part of the ultimate con, if you will.
Told mostly in flashback, James Foley’s “Flashack” centers on a man who really likes to win. The latest swindle that he and his three constituents have cooked up is, once again, easy money. Or so they think.
Unfortunately, Jake and his quartet have chosen a bad mark, the-fittingly-named The King [Dustin Hoffman], and he wants reimbursement. So after one Jake’s guy’s ends up being capped, he chooses to confront the enemy, offering him a deal: he'll pull a job for King to cover the debt. King agrees, but with two conditions: he gets to choose the mark and one of his men, Lupus (Franky G.), goes along. To round out the group and add a little sex appeal, Jake picks up Lily (Rachel Weisz), a hot lass with a cute behind and a ostensibly switched on globe above her head.
King wants the gang to hit his rival, Morgan Price (Robert Forster), ultimately nicking $5 million from the man. Jake scrupulously plans everything, but regrettably doesn’t take into consideration two crooked cops or a steadfast FBI agent who has been trailing him from the get-go.
A cross between “The Grifters” [1990) and David Mamet’s “Heist” [2002], Foley’s film, like its predecessors, relies heavily on its macho dialogue, smart mechanics and ‘didn’t see that coming’ style of twists and turns to hold an audience to its glue. Most of it does hold together, but not without a few loose pieces that just don’t seem to fit anywhere. But not only that, it doesn’t deliver anything truly amazing or different – and when you’re entering a genre that’s almost been done to death; you really do have to bring something new to it. Sure, there’s an [all too brief] appearance by Dustin Hoffman [looking a little scruffy], an outlandish turn by Andy Garcia and a amiable lead man in Ed Burns steering the rolls, but like any jigsaw puzzle it’s not a sheer delight unless all the pieces come together – and unfortunately there’s still some bits left over in the box.
