''Matchstick Men'' is a 2003

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

and based on Eric Garcia's 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for playing troubled police officer Jason Dixon in ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' (2017). He was nominated i ...

, and Alison Lohman. The film premiered on September 2, 2003 at the

60th Venice International Film Festival The 60th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 27 August to 6 September 2003, at Venice Lido in Italy. Italian filmmaker Mario Monicelli was the Jury President of the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to '' The Re ...

and was released in the United States on September 12, 2003. It received generally positive reviews and grossed $65 million against its $62 million budget.

Plot

Roy Waller is a

con artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...

from Los Angeles with severe

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome (TS), or simply Tourette's, is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinkin ...

and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Alongside his partner and protégé Frank Mercer, Roy runs short cons, selling overpriced water filtration systems to unsuspecting customers. One day, Roy accidentally spills his medication down the sink; he then discovers his doctor has skipped town and begins a cleaning spree in his house that lasts until the following day. Roy subsequently experiences a violent

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...

when Frank visits him. Frank suggests he see a psychiatrist, Dr. Harris Klein. Klein provides Roy with medication, and in therapy, Roy recalls his past relationship with Heather, his ex-wife who was pregnant during their divorce. At Roy's behest, Klein informs Roy he called Heather, finding out Roy has a 14-year-old daughter, Angela. Roy and Angela meet, and her youthful energy rejuvenates him. Jubilant, he agrees to work with Frank on a long con; their target is Chuck Frechette, an arrogant businessman whom they plan to con using the pigeon drop. One night, Angela shows up at Roy's house, saying she has had a fight with her mother, deciding to stay for the weekend before returning to school. Exploring his belongings, she causes him to rethink his life, which he mentions during therapy with Klein. Angela returns home late one night, leading to an argument between them. During dinner, Roy admits he is a con artist and reluctantly agrees to teach Angela a con. They go to a local laundromat and con an older woman into believing she has won the lottery, so she shares half of her expected winnings with Angela; however, Roy then forces Angela to return the money. Roy goes bowling with Angela but is interrupted when Frank reveals that Chuck's flight to the Caymans has been updated to that day instead of Friday as planned. With little time, Roy reluctantly lets Angela distract Chuck midway through the con; however, after the con is finished, Chuck realizes what has happened and chases them into a parking garage before they escape. Roy then discovers Angela was arrested a year earlier and asks her to stop calling him. Without Angela, Roy's myriad phobias resurface, and during another panic attack, he ultimately learns that the medication given to him by Klein is a placebo. To Frank's disappointment, he proclaims he needs Angela but would have to change his lifestyle. Roy reaches out to Angela, and they reconcile. After returning from dinner one night, they find Chuck waiting for them with a gun alongside a badly beaten Frank. Angela shoots Chuck, and Roy sends her off with Frank into hiding until the matter can be resolved. As Roy prepares to take care of Chuck's body, Chuck suddenly springs to life and knocks Roy unconscious. Roy awakens in a hospital, where the police inform him that Chuck died from the gunshot and Frank and Angela have disappeared. Klein appears, and Roy gives him the password to his large safety deposit box, ordering him to provide the money to Angela when she is found. Later, Roy awakens to find the "police" have disappeared, his "hospital room" is a freight container on the roof of a parking garage, "Dr. Klein's" office is vacant, and Roy's substantial cash savings have been taken. Frank reveals in a letter that he pulled a long con. Roy drives over to Heather's (whom he hasn't seen in years), looking for Angela. Roy learns the truth: Heather miscarried their child. The young woman he thought was their child was Frank's accomplice. One year later, Roy is a salesman at a local carpet store, where one day Angela and her boyfriend wander in. Roy confronts Angela—who looks older than when she was conning him—but ultimately forgives her, realizing that he is happier as an honest man. Angela reveals that she did not receive her fair share of the cut from Frank and that it was the only con she ever pulled. She then asks Roy if he would like to know her real name, to which he replies "I know your name." In turn, Angela says "I'll see you, Dad." before departing with her boyfriend. Roy returns home to his new wife, Kathy, who is pregnant with his child.

Cast

as Roy Waller *

as Frank Mercer * Alison Lohman as Angela *

Bruce Altman Bruce Altman (born July 3, 1955) is an American film and television actor. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Personal life Altman was born in The Bronx, New York. He is of Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are ...

as Dr. Harris Klein * Bruce McGill as Chuck Frechette * Sheila Kelley as Kathy *

Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actor, character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her ...

as Laundry Lady *

Melora Walters Melora Walters (born October 21, 1959) is an American actress and filmmaker, best known for her starring roles as Wanda Henrickson on HBO's ''Big Love'' (2006–2010) and Kathy Kone on Hulu's '' PEN15'' (2019–2021). She has frequently collabora ...

as Heather, Roy's Former Wife (uncredited) *

Jenny O'Hara Jenny O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''Big Love'' (2006– ...

as Mrs. Schaffer * Steve Eastin as Mr. Schaffer * Fran Kranz as Slacker Boyfriend * Tim Kelleher as Bishop * Tim Maculan as Pharmacist #2 * Giannina Facio as Bank Teller *

Sonya Eddy Sonya Eddy (June 17, 1967 – December 19, 2022) was an American actress. She was best known for playing Epiphany Johnson in the American American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2006—2022) for which she won a posthu ...

as Parking Garage Cashier * Jim Zulevic as Bartender

Release

Box office

Opening in 2,711 theaters in the United States and Canada, the film's opening weekend gross stood at second place with $13.0 million for a per-theater-average of $4,827; it ultimately lost the number-one position to '' Once Upon a Time in Mexico''. The film eventually grossed $36.9 million domestically, and $65.5 million worldwide.

Critical reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

rated the film four stars (out of four) and described it as "so absorbing that whenever it cuts away from the plot, there is another, better plot to cut to." He also recommended the film for several Oscar nominations, most notably Nicolas Cage's performance and the film's screenplay.

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...

awarded the film three-and-a-half stars (out of four), praising the film for its "sly, biting sense of humor" and "emotionally satisfying" elements. He also praised the film's acting, and ultimately noted that the film was "worth every cent" of the ticket price and was "the first winner of the fall movie season."

References

External links

* * * * {{Ridley Scott 2003 films 2003 black comedy films 2000s crime comedy-drama films 2000s heist films American black comedy films American crime comedy-drama films American heist films British black comedy films British crime comedy-drama films British heist films Films about con artists Films about Tourette syndrome Films based on American novels Films directed by Ridley Scott Films produced by Ridley Scott Films scored by Hans Zimmer Films with screenplays by Ted Griffin Warner Bros. films Scott Free Productions films ImageMovers films Lottery fraud in fiction Films about father–daughter relationships 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s British films English-language black comedy films English-language crime comedy-drama films