All Rise...

Judge Gordon Sullivan pines of the days of forging checks.

The Charge

It's never too late for one last heist.

The Case

Sometimes genre mash-ups are things of beauty. Horror-comedies are my favorite go-to example, where the laughs leave you even more vulnerable to the scares, and the scares make you more willing to laugh. Sometimes, though, genre mash-ups lead to an unholy alliance, with the mixed ingredients bringing out the worst in each other. The Forger is a perfect example. On the one hand it wants to be a hard-boiled crime story in the vein of such Boston-centric heavies as The Friends of Eddie Coyle or The Town. On the other hand, it wants to be a tear-jerking story of the reunion of a criminal father and his terminally-ill son. It's ill-conceived from start to finish, and not even a solid cast featuring okay performances can elevate this forgery of a flick.

Raymond (John Travolta, Battlefield Earth) is one of the world's best art forgers, but he's languishing in prison. He wants desperately to get out, so he cuts a deal with underworld figure Keegan (Anson Mount, Hell on Wheels). Raymond wants out because his father (Christopher Plummer, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) is aging and his son (Tye Sheridan, The Tree of Life) has an inoperable brain tumor. Keegan is only too happy to oblige, but in return he wants Raymond to steal a Monet and put a forgery in its place. With the help of Raymond's family, The Forger becomes an intergenerational heist film.

The Forger is a classic case of too many ingredients spoiling the soup. Many, many crime films have earned pathos because time in the pen has kept a father away from his son. Most recently (for me at least) is the excellent Jude Law vehicle Dom Hemingway. There, a father is away from his daughter for most of her childhood and once he's out repairing that bond brings a lot of emotion to the picture. The Forger could seal the deal with a similar dynamic, but instead it has to go the ?extra? mile and give Raymond's son an inoperable tumor. What does this accomplish for the film? Not much, except adding one more excessive element that the film can't really juggle. The movie-of-the-week tumor plot line doesn't get the room it needs to breathe while the heist is being plotted, and the heist doesn't require the tumor plot in the slightest. Similarly, one father-son dynamic would be enough for the film to succeed, but The Forger needs two. So not only do viewers have to contend with Raymond and his son, but also Raymond and his father.

But maybe The Forger wasn't doomed from the start. Careful execution of even an outlandish idea can make things work, but The Forger falls down even there. The heist aspects are pedestrian at best, and very little energy is generated by any of the film's various threads. Here again excess comes into play. It's not enough that we have Raymond and Keegan locking horns over the Monet forgery. Nope, we also need some FBI agents who want to use Raymond against Keegan. This diffuses the tension rather than adding to it, making the plot as overstuffed and bland as the characters.

At least the film gets a decent Blu-ray release. The 2.40:1/1080p AVC-encoded transfer leans toward the grey and blue. Detail is strong throughout, but colors don't have much pop (by choice). The overall feeling is somber and a little gritty. This isn't a reference quality picture, but it serves the film's ambience well. The DTS-HD 5.1 track is similarly strong, though not spectacular. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout, with some scenes showcasing impressive use of the surrounds.

Extras start with seven minute EPK-style featurette that combines footage from the film with fluffy interviews. An Ultraviolet Digital Copy of the film is also included.

I feel compelled to note that The Forger doesn't fail because of the acting. John Travolta gives the film his all, and it's a surprisingly affecting performance. It doesn't work terribly well in the context of the film, but not because he's reaching for the cheap seats. He leave that to Plummer, who goes for the gusto as the granddad. Tye Sheridan plays moody and distant well, while Anson Mount gets to radiate menace. With an improved script and more inspired direction, this cast could have turned in something fine.

The Forger is a weird combo of heist flick and family drama that doesn't commit enough to either to let anything satisfying emerge. Fanatic Travolta fans might want to pick this one up, but it's probably not worth it for most viewers.

The Verdict

Guilty of being counterfeit.

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