<p>Adapted from David Grann’s New Yorker article, The Old Man and the Gun tells the story of Forrest Tucker, the self-styled ‘Houdini’ whose many audacious prison breaks included an Alcatraz flight in a homemade kayak, and whose last robbery was committed when he was 79. Focussing on Tucker’s crime-spree with his geriatric band of brothers (the Over-the-Hill-Gang), who long evaded both the FBI and an increasingly frustrated detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), this is a brilliantly entertaining crime caper. Redford is at his screen-legend best as the silver fox, exuding nuclear-watt charisma (he’s recently announced his retirement; as a swan song, it’s a sweetly melodious one). Most delectable are the scenes in which he woos Jewel (Sissy Spacek) with a swoon-inducing chemistry as sparks crackle between the two. Infused with a passion for the classic American independent cinema of Redford and Spacek’s generation, Joe Anderson’s luscious 16mm photography delivers rapturous period camera flourishes, while a montage of Forrest’s life-long exploits poignantly references old Redford movies. Offering bittersweet reflections on time and age (Jewel observes, ‘this is the last time I’ll ever have the chance to do whatever…’), The Old Man and the Gun is a testament to a free-spirit who steadfastly refused to go quietly.</p>
