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For a film thatвЂ™s all about distracting marks with flash, and then going for their pocket when theyвЂ™re looking somewhere else, 'Focus' sparkles from shot to shot, and in a sense keeps the audience dazzled and occupied away from the clunkier machinations of the plot. Every frame of 'Focus' looks fantastic, with cinematographer Xavier Grobet (' Looking,' ' Nacho Libre') making a helluva impression.

#FOCUS WILL SMITH MOVIE#

'Focus' only works if the balance of ingredients is right, and from the cast, Ficarra and Requa get everything they need.ДЄnd the directors donвЂ™t slouch either, upping their skills, for what is easily the best shot movie of their career. Brennan Brown is a nice surprise as NickyвЂ™s deadpan longtime right hand man, Gerald McRaney is delightfully growly and grumpy in a key role, and BD Wong turns up and pivots his performance in a key sequence toward the flamboyantly outlandish, but keeps it pitched in just the right register. And around them is solid support from character actors reliably doing their thing. Sure, this isnвЂ™t Shakespeare, and three-quarters of their job here is looking good (which they do fabulously, thanks to costume designer Dayna Pink), but each time the movie makes the next leap of faith narratively, Smith and Robbie jump through the hoops with a breezy, light touch. They play every twisty turn of the plot, no matter how far fetched, with a straight-faced devotion, and like any good grifter, they can sell it. And thatвЂ™s largely due to Smith and Robbie, who are exactly the kind of magnetic, beautiful, Hollywood star leads you want for this kind of movie. To say much more would be to ruin the fun, but make no mistake, 'Focus' will give you a terrific time in the moment.

#FOCUS WILL SMITH HOW TO#

That pesky heart starts kicking back into gear, and Nicky has to try and keep one eye on his latest con, while figuring out how to win Jess back. Fast forward three years and Nicky is in Buenos Aires working a new gig on the racing circuit, only to discover that Jess is hanging off the arm of his client. But after an elaborate job in New Orleans in which the thieving team winds up with millions, Nicky gives Jess her share and coldly dumps her.В 'ThereвЂ™s no room for heart in this game, itвЂ™ll get you killed,' Nicky once warned Jess, but she wasnвЂ™t prepared to learn that lesson the hard way, and it leaves her shattered. He reluctantly takes her under his wing, but not only does she prove to be a quick study, the romantic chemistry between them begins to spark, and soon Jess becomes one of the regular players in NickyвЂ™s network of con artists. Enter Jess ( Margot Robbie), a newcomer to the business who wants to learn from the legendary Nicky. But if heвЂ™s got a weakness, itвЂ™s a soft heart and a thing for beautiful women. He knows every trick in the book, can anticipate three moves ahead before they happen, and never breaks a sweat. Will Smith plays Nicky, a veteran con man who fronts a multi-faceted operation of graft, that includes everything from straight robbery to gray market dealings. And writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John RequaВ (' Crazy Stupid Love,' ' I Love You Phillip Morris') use the same playbook and bring their A-game to ' Focus,' a no less preposterous, yet just as accomplished a popcorn movie as FincherвЂ™s thriller. For example, last fallвЂ™s ' Gone Girl' showed how David Fincher could bring together a high wattage cast and use his extensive technical skills to make an utterly unbelievable and ridiculous piece of pulp, a nonetheless engaging, highly entertaining work of cinema. But of course, when it works, weвЂ™re able to suspend our disbelief and go along for the ride, and the masters of the form are skilled at hiding all the strings involved in carrying along an audience. The entire artform relies on manipulating the viewer into feeling real emotion, by engaging them with stories that are nevertheless built out of pure artifice.

It could be said that for over one hundred years, the movies have proven to be the biggest artistic con game going.

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