Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie Review

American Hustlers.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 27, 2014

It might seem daunting to step into shoes once worn (figuratively at least) by Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson, but that’s exactly what Yasiin Bey (also known as Mos Def) and John Hawkes do in the frequently amusing Life of Crime, the latest in a long line of cinematic adaptations of works by Elmore Leonard. Fans of Leonard’s long and distinguished writing career will know that there has been a rather large variety of films culled from his writing, including such entries as 3:10 to Yuma (and its remake), Get Shorty, Killshot, Mr. Majestyk, Out of Sight, and of course the film that previously featured the not exactly criminal masterminds of Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara, Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. If Jackie Brown was an homage of sorts to seventies’ so-called “blaxploitation” films, Life of Crime actually takes place in the seventies, something that makes the film play like a kind of low (lower?) rent version of American Hustle, at least from a production design perspective. There are also unmistakable echoes of the Coen Brothers’ iconic Fargo, both from a plot standing as well as the film’s somewhat acerbic sense of humor.

Ordell (Yasiin Bey) and Louis (John Hawkes) are discussing their latest questionable plot in a low rent diner as Life of Crime begins to unspool its somewhat convoluted storyline. Prominent socialite Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston) is married to a drunken brute named Frank (Tim Robbins), a real estate entrepreneur who has been secretly stashing millions of dollars away through a variety of criminal enterprises which have come to Ordell’s attention. Ordell has further discovered that Frank regularly leaves town and has decided that kidnapping Mickey will provide him a golden ticket to a cash suffused future. If he takes Mickey hostage while simultaneously threatening to reveal what he knows about Frank’s surreptitious activities, a ransom will certainly be paid. Louis is a bit more hesitant, but ultimately agrees to be part of the plan.

Ordell takes Louis to the home of Richard (Mark Boone, Jr.), a third conspirator whose dwelling will provide the hiding place for Mickey once she’s abducted. Louis is shocked to see a rather large variety of Nazi memorabilia adorning the walls of Richard’s abode, as well as a sampler on the wall disparaging blacks and Jews. Louis is somewhat confused, since Ordell is black and seems to get along just fine with Richard, to which Richard responds with regard to Richard, “He’s so dumb he’s adorable.”

Needless to say, Mickey is abducted, but not without some minor setbacks that are a bit reminiscent of Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) stumbling through the Lundegaard home in Fargo screaming for “unguent” (in a scene that still provokes outright hilarity in this viewer). In this case, it’s Mickey who’s slightly injured, but even that turns out to be less potentially dangerous than the sudden arrival of Marshall Taylor (Will Forte), a guy with the hots for Mickey who has decided to take advantage of Frank’s absence to “press his case” with Mickey.

Once Mickey is more or less safely ensconced in a boarded up bedroom in Richard’s home, things begin to get even more knotty. Unbeknownst to Mickey, Frank is actually off gallivanting with his latest squeeze, a smarter than she looks woman named Melanie Ralston (Isla Fisher), whom Frank intends to marry after divorcing Mickey. In fact, it turns out that Frank had sent Mickey the divorce papers before leaving on this trip, though they hadn’t been delivered by the time Ordell and Louis had shown up to kidnap her. When Ordell makes the first ransom call, Frank, aided almost subliminally by the scheming Melanie, begins to wonder what paying a ransom would actually achieve, since with Mickey out of the way, he would be free of both marital constraints as well as the threat of alimony and child support.

Meanwhile, Marshall, who was injured and locked in a closet in the Dawson home during the kidnapping, is trying to figure out what the best course forward is. He knows something bad has probably happened to Mickey, but he’s a married man himself, and revealing his knowledge of the situation would also reveal his attempt to stray from his marital vows. Back at Richard’s house, Mickey has to deal in her own way with Richard’s unseemly tendencies as well as her increasing knowledge of Frank’s duplicity.

To reveal more would spoil some of the gentle but amusing surprises Life of Crime has up its sleeve. The film may not have the punch and drama of other Leonard filmic adaptations, but it is consistently spry and offers Aniston one of her better performance opportunities of the past few years. She brings both a charming vulnerabilty as well as ultimately a rather steely demeanor to Mickey and her predicament. Similarly, it’s fun to finally see John Hawkes as something akin to a good guy, despite the fact that Louis is obviously a criminal and kidnapper. The supporting cast is largely flawless, with Fisher especially amusing as the machinating Melanie.

Life of Crime ultimately boils down to a somewhat predictable punchline that plays on Leonard’s original title, “The Switch.” That may be a cheap out for what is a mostly invigorating little character study wrapped inside a traditional caper gone wrong scenario, but it ultimately doesn’t completely deflate this often droll soufflé.

Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Life of Crime is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. Shot digitally with the Arri Alexa, Life of Crime only really pops in any traditional fashion when the film segues to Frank and Melinda's beachside hideaway, sequences that feature a really lush palette and excellent depth of field, in addition to the typically sharp and smooth look of this camera. Much of the rest of the film is intentionally drab, with a kind of Fargo-esque wintry quality (including quite a bit of snow) in and around the main story's locale of Detroit. Even some of the Detroit sequences feature an anachronistically sunny-yellow ambience in interior scenes (see screenshots 1 and 5 for some examples). Close-ups offer excellent fine detail, revealing textures in some of the questionable fashion statements of the seventies. Contrast is generally strong, though the film struggles at times to provide substantial shadow detail in some of the shrouded interior scenes.

Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The music supervisor (Laura Katz) on Life of Crime must have had her Joel Whitburn Billboard books handy, crafting a soundtrack of near ubiquitous source cues that provides Life of Crime its most consistent surround activity in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio. There are some great sound effects scattered throughout the film, including the boorish Frank bashing into one of his Cadillacs while driving drunk, or the sound of glass shattering when Mickey is shocked by the kidnappers entering her home. The bulk of this film is really smaller scale dialogue scenes, though, and the 5.1 mix, while not overly immersive, provides excellent support for all elements, offering great fidelity and no problems whatsoever.

Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Daniel Schechter and Actor Will Forte. This is fun if not overly informative, with the two participants just kind of shooting the breeze about the film. There's some interesting stuff here (like Schechter's unease at having to green screen some driving sequences), but it tends to come in dribs and drabs.


• Behind the Scenes of Life of Crime (1080p; 10:06) is a fairly standard EPK, though with some good interviews.


• Envisioning the Big Picture: Shooting Crime (1080p; 9:16) focuses on Schechter and his adaptive process.


• Hit and Run: Choreographing Mayhem (1080p; 6:30) looks at some of the set pieces in the film.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 10:20)

Life of Crime Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Life of Crime may not be the best Leonard adaptation to make it to film, but it's surprisingly good at virtually every turn. If the ending delivers a bit of a cop out (albeit with a fantastic closing joke), getting there is typically convoluted Leonard-esque fun, and the cast is aces all the way. This is one of Aniston's more memorable performances, and those who tend to dismiss her as a one-note rom-com queen may be surprised at just how much depth she brings to the role of Mickey. Technical merits here are generally quite strong, and Life of Crime comes Recommended.