By Matt Savelloni
September 11, 2003
“FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME.”
No one is quite sure who first coined this phrase but in its essence lies the spirit of the con game. Swindlers, perilous men and women carving out an uncertain existence, have always been favorite and consistent subjects in books and films. At their best, con artists are master psychologists, like expert poker players preternaturally adept at reading the inner thoughts, inclinations and emotions of their “marks.” At their worst, they are pathetically desperate creatures, criminally obsessed with the grift and staking their lives on the whims of chance. Literary and film works dealing with this unique mindset range from the deadly serious, like Dostoyevsky’s THE GAMBLER or Singer’s THE USUAL SUSPECTS to spirited romps like Leonard’s FREAKY DEAKY or David S. Ward’s THE STING. Eric Garcia’s MATCHSTICK MEN is frustratingly caught in the middle, too distracted to edify on the art of the con yet too superficial to swim in deeper, darker waters.
Garcia’s probably best known for his Vincent Rubio series. Possibly the most unique P.I. in the history of the genre, Rubio is actually a dinosaur in latex human disguise. ANONYMOUS REX and CASUAL REX exhibit playful, inventive spins on a timeworn style that suggest an author with brains, talent and courage to spare. But fans of the REX series should be forewarned before picking up MATCHSTICK MEN as it is a major departure in tone and execution. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Garcia’s stripped-down style evokes classic Chandler, Thompson and Ross Thomas and his character of Roy remains as peerless and boldly exhibited as Rubio. But Garcia skimps on the rest of the cast, trotting out a series of bland, one-note supporting players whose frail personalities fail to maintain any believable consistency. That would be fine if Roy was the sole focus of the novel. But as the plot’s third-act twist relies so indelibly on these multiple players and their proclivities, we realize the dearth of vibrant portrayals is the result of an author afraid to tip his hand.
Part of the fun of scams is trying to figure out where they begin and end. Ideally, the fourth wall is knocked down and the audience in effect identifies with the targets of the con. MATCHSTICK MEN, however, is too easy to figure out and if you don’t see every disclosure coming a mile away, you haven’t read many like-minded novels before nor have you been paying attention to con artist films of the last fifty years. Again, the main problem is the lack of characterization beyond Roy. His partner Frank, his daughter Angela, his psychiatrist Dr. Klein, are all just ciphers of the plot. They never become anything more than just enablers of a rambling story. As a result, the reader forms numerous doubts and starts questioning every succeeding elaboration. This wouldn’t be so egregious if the cons themselves were of any interest but they are tired retreads of scams we have read about or seen a hundred times in comparable books and films. Even Roy suffers, his character undermined by an abrupt vulnerability late in the book. After all, if we can see the scam coming miles away, why can’t Roy, whom we are asked to believe is a virtuoso matchstick man?
“THE EASIEST PERSON TO DECEIVE IS ONE'S SELF.” – Edward Bulwer-Lytton
 |
MATCHSTICK MEN does not entirely lack merit. Garcia is a fabulous writer, capable of eliciting extremes of passion and inner turmoil with short bursts of declarative prose. He understands the brevity of wit and commands the shorthanded expertise of all great noir writers. Roy is a fantastic character, even if he is undone by novel’s end. A fragile man suffering from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, he is only in control when laced on Effexor or running a con. When we meet him, he is falling apart now that his psychiatrist has moved out of town and he has been off his meds for a few weeks. He eventually encounters the friendly Dr. Klein and renews his commitment to psycho-pharmaceutical treatment. He and Frankie begin pulling down some serious coin on a series of art forgeries. Complications arise, however, when Angela, the 14-year-old daughter he’s never seen, suddenly turns up in his life. She takes a shine to his career path and eventually charms her way into an apprenticeship. Like her father, Angela flourishes on the job, causing serious strife with Frankie.
Garcia is working with dynamite material here, a dysfunctional family of con artists struggling to unite their frantic professional lives. Roy’s mental instability, Frankie’s spendthrift ways and Angela’s wayward relationship with her mother, clash and gel in humorous tension. But it’s all just an overture to a symphony Garcia never fully composes. The interpersonal relationships stop developing at the point where Roy falls headlong into fatherhood, experiencing a joy for which he never realized he was starved. Frankie and Angela continue to hate each other, bristling at one another’s company. Despite their not insignificant success, everyone remains fixated on the next job -- which seems authentic -- but they also remain uniform and sketchy -- which seems theatrically insufficient. And that sudden deficiency of full-blooded characterization and motivation brings about increasing disinterest on the part of the reader. When the last con is unveiled, we immediately realize the paper-thin cast lacks substance for a reason: to hide the inevitable twist that has become painfully obvious.
MATCHSTICK MEN does cover some dark territory and should be praised for its uncompromising ending. However, it’s less than sunny demeanor robs it of any “fun” factor which -- combined with a lack of substantive insight into the realm and minds of con artists -- ultimately condemns the novel to a netherworld between serious crime fiction and engaging sleight-of-hand. The first half of Roy’s journey is unique and compelling but his abrupt blindness to the big picture negates the plausibility of his character. Sometimes con artists get in over their heads, underestimate their victims and pay a severe price. MATCHSTICK MEN gravely underestimates its audience and when the marks are smarter than the grifters, the con becomes irrelevant. Garcia is typically a master puppeteer but with MATCHSTICK MEN, it’s entirely too easy to see the strings.
“ILLUSION IS THE FIRST OF ALL PLEASURES.” – Oscar Wilde
 |
We do love our con-game movies. We love to be surprised and cons are like magic shows, extending one reality until that wide-eyed moment when the illusion is pulled back, the truth exposed. A film like THE GRIFTERS is less concerned with the illusion than with the forlorn oddballs trying to perpetrate it, whereas a film like THE SPANISH PRISONER is all about the machinations of fooling the mooks. In either case, the dexterity of deceit provides subtext and is usually the most fascinating element involved. There is no certain defense against a good con because it comes at you when you are least expecting it. Even if your defenses are up -- for instance watching a three-card monte game -- you are still at a disadvantage, fencing with an artist who has assumed duplicity as second nature. The problem facing MATCHSTICK MEN is the same one facing all con artist films: the audience is at high alert. They will doubt and question everything. And if the filmmakers are not as adept as that monte dealer, the energy will quickly die out.
Unfortunately, the book provides no solid footing for a masterful con artist film. The card is sticking out of its sleeve and only a drastic reworking of the plot will save it from the agonizing indifference of the novel. Fortunately, they have a man like Ted Griffin at the keys to adapt it. One of the better con-artist films of recent memory was the remake of OCEAN’S ELEVEN, a generous melding of talent and story. The megawatt star power and Soderbergh’s commanding direction took root in Griffin’s ingenious script, which never cheated the audience in terms of personification yet still managed to pull the rug out from under us. Griffin is also the author of another con artist film full of believable surprises, BEST LAID PLANS. With MATCHSTICK MEN he is working with his brother Nicholas Griffin, who has no film credits. Whatever. I have liked what I’ve seen from Ted so if anybody can inject vitality and wonder into MATCHSTICK MEN, he is as likely to succeed as anyone this side of Mamet.
Nicholas Cage is perfect for Roy, a bungle of disparate nerves, barely contained violence and mental anguish, all contained under the brilliant mind of a prodigious con man. This is the type of role in which the pre-action-film Cage prospered. While Cage has not completely abandoned his whiz-bang yen -- he has another John Woo film on deck along with the adventure NATIONAL TREASURE and the comic-adaptation of GHOST RIDER -- his recent work in ADAPTATION and now MATCHSTICK MEN suggest he is willing to let his quirky skills shine anew. Sam Rockwell, a character actor quickly becoming one of the best in the biz, joins Cage. He was grossly overlooked for his work in CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. Rockwell is more than equipped to enliven the caricature of Frankie. Ridley Scott directs and as long as he summons that spirited THELMA AND LOUISE vibe and abandons the horrific MTV styles of GLADIATOR, HANNIBAL and BLACK HAWK DOWN, he should be able to bring a funky, languid soul to the proceedings. If the A-list talent involved can overcome the transparency of the novel, then perhaps MATCHSTICK MEN will be imbued with some much-needed vigor and creativity.
“The surprising thing about young fools is how many survive to become old fools.” – Doug Larson
E-MAIL THE AUTHOR |
ARCHIVES
