Focus
Director: Glenn Ficara, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro
104 mins; Class 15;
KRS Releasing Ltd

Will Smith is a charismatic star who has enhanced many a movie with his sunny, funny disposition, while often successfully tapping into his more serious side with critically-acclaimed dramatic roles. There is a bit of both sides of him in his latest, Focus, a heist film that skits along lightly between comedy and drama falling a tad tentatively between the two.

Smith stars as Nicky, a third-generation conman who makes a living pick-pocketing people in the street, fleecing casinos, or making a killing via a fake ATM. He happily takes Jess (Margot Robbie), a rookie thief who proves a quick study, under his wing, and inevitably the two become involved… Things don’t work out, however, and the two go their separate ways until they meet up again in Argentina some time later where Nicky is in the middle of a major scheme at the behest of racing team owner Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro). Her reappearance in his life proves to be a major distraction.

The film seems to start by treading a dramatic path – Nicky soon begins opening up about his childhood, and his abrupt ending of his relationship with Jess is bathed in a sombre ‘I can’t handle romantic relationships’ kind of tone. Yet it soon segues into something lighter, so much so the film works more as a romantic piece of fluff than a heist film, the plot having few twists and turns and, it must be said, very little mystery as regards the outcome.

An opening scene where Nicky and his crew casually walk down a crowded New Orleans street nicking a camera lens here and a watch there is nimbly done, while the film’s most exciting scene by far involves Nicky, Jess and a brash billionaire Chinese businessman at a football match and keeps the audience at the edge of their seat until its brilliant outcome.

Yet, overall, the tricks carried out in, for example, the recent and much more effective ensemble piece Now You See Me involved much more sleight of hand and kept audiences guessing for its duration.

And if further proof were needed, the ultimate great scam Nicky is carrying out in Buenos Aires happily gives way to the relationship between him and Jess as each wonders whether the other is simply trying to swindle the other... With its glitzy settings and gorgeous stars, Focus is a glossy, glamorous piece of cinema whose inspiration clearly lies in the likes of Hitchcock’s effervescent 1955 film To Catch a Thief which memorably paired Cary Grant with Grace Kelly for what became an instant classic.

Smith and Robbie’s efforts don’t reach such lofty heights, yet their charm alone is enough to carry this through to its end. Robbie is a rising Australian star who more than held her own opposite Leonardo di Caprio in the whirlwind that was The Wolf of Wall Street. And she shines as much as her co-star here.

As for him, this certainly is not vintage Smith, and the script by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (who also co-directed) paints a thin sketch of the character, providing little by way of genuine laughs or deep moments, but the actor’s effortless charisma is ever-present.

Veteran actor Gerald McRaney adds a touch of humorous world-weariness to Owens, Garriga’s henchman, while some genuine laughs come courtesy of Adrian Martinez’s Farhad, one of Nicky’s partners who always seems to be at the right place at the right time, to provide some colourful if vulgar insights into the world around him.

Focus too hard on it and its flaws become obvious. As a film it is agreeable enough if you are happy to sit back and enjoy the ride for what it is.