Just like Robert Redford's own eternally dazzling smile, David Lowery's The Old Man & the Gun is welcoming, approachable, relaxed, and affable. Although ostensibly structured as crime thriller – it is based on the life of real-life bank robber and multiple prison escapee Forrest Tucker – The Old Man & the Gun moves gently and calmly, eager to stay at the pace of a gentle stroll. It is a film that invites one to sit in its living room, offers a cup of tea, and proceeds to spin yarns of the good old days while you listen raptly to its deceptively inconsequential anecdotes.
Forrest Tucker, for the uninitiated, was one of the most prolific career criminals of the 20th century. He reportedly escaped from 18 prisons, and made 12 additional attempts. His approach to robbing banks was a friendly one: He would enter a bank, wait for just the right moment, then show a gun to a teller or a manager, demanding cash. He wouldn't threaten, badger, or cuss. He would converse, defer, ask nicely, and compliment. And he always left with a smile on his face. He was a bank robber by the very nature of his bemused politeness. It's been said that his victims would speak kindly of him after the fact.
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Forrest Tucker, for the uninitiated, was one of the most prolific career criminals of the 20th century. He reportedly escaped from 18 prisons, and made 12 additional attempts. His approach to robbing banks was a friendly one: He would enter a bank, wait for just the right moment, then show a gun to a teller or a manager, demanding cash. He wouldn't threaten, badger, or cuss. He would converse, defer, ask nicely, and compliment. And he always left with a smile on his face. He was a bank robber by the very nature of his bemused politeness. It's been said that his victims would speak kindly of him after the fact.
Continue reading…
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