Criminal (film)

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Criminal

Directed by	Gregory Jacobs
Produced by	George Clooney, Gregory Jacobs, Steven Soderbergh
Written by	Fabián Bielinsky (original film), Gregory Jacobs, Steven Soderbergh (as Sam Lowry)
Starring	John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Music by	Alex Wurman
Cinematography	Chris Menges
Editing by	Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Distributed by	Warner Independent Pictures
Release date(s)	September 10, 2004
Running time	87 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Criminal is a 2004 film based upon the Argentinian film Nine Queens. Directed by Gregory Jacobs, it stars John C. Reilly, Diego Luna and Maggie Gyllenhaal and is a production of Section Eight, the production company of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney.

Tagline: Ever get the feeling you're being played?

By the time you figure it out... you've been had.

[edit] Plot

John C. Reilly plays Richard Gaddis, a small time crook with a penchant for con games. To hook marks, he acts like a well-to-do businessman, dressing like one and driving a Mercedes-Benz, believing that one must look like a professional in order to con money out of the wealthy.

He joins forces with Rodrigo (Luna) after he sees the young man playing some minor con games in a casino-bar. When Rodrigo is caught, he acts the part of a vice officer to save him from being arrested. A partnership is born. Rodrigo's contribution is a face and naive manner so trustable that he is able to con anyone, while Richard is both completely unprincipled and very clever.

Although Rodrigo (whom Richard renames Brian to 'Anglo him up') distrusts Richard greatly, he agrees to partner him on a gigantic scam, provided he gets a percentage of the money gained to help his ailing father, who is in trouble because of his gambling debts. Richard accepts, and they plan to sell a copy of the most valuable piece of currency in the United States to William Hannigan, a rich collector who is in town, passing it off as the real thing.

Gyllenhaal plays Gaddis' sister Valerie, a concierge at a hotel. When Hannigan takes a fancy to the uptight but very sexy Valerie, Gaddis is forced to pull her into the scam, the price of which is Richard's admission to their brother Michael that he has cheated him out of his share of their inheritance. The air-tight plot twists constantly as each of the characters becomes more deeply invested in the scam, and the ever-deceitful Richard tries to cheat Rodrigo, Valerie and Michael out of their share of the take.