The Lookout (2007)

NEUTRAL

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83%

2007, Drama/Crime, 1h 39m

RT Critics’ Score: 87% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 11 nominations

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Critics Consensus

The Lookout is a genuinely suspenseful and affecting noir due to the great ensemble cast and their complex, realistic characters

Audience Consensus

If you’re looking for a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Lookout is definitely worth checking out. Sure, there are some plot holes and unanswered questions, but the gripping storyline and intense performances more than make up for it. Plus, who doesn’t love a good heist film with a side of moral dilemma? Just be prepared for a bit of white-trash thrown in for good measure. Overall, I’d say it’s a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Storyline

An admired high school hockey player with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girlfriend and two other friends with his headlights off with devastating results. The former athlete is left with a brain injury that prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time. To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do. He also lives with a blind friend who aids him. Obviously, with the mental incapacitation, he is unable to have meaningful work. Thus he works as a night cleaning man in a bank. It is there he comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. The leader befriends him and gets him involved with a young woman who further reels him in. After they get close and after reeling him in with his own failures, the bank plan unfolds. Confused but wanting to escape his current existence, he initially goes along with the scheme. After realizing he is being used, he attempts to stop the robbery, which of course immediately goes awry.

Production Company(ies)
Nouvelles Éditions de Films,

Distributor
Miramax Films

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Hartney, Manitoba, Canada

MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content

Year of Release
2007

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

DTSS DDS Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio:

2.35 : 1
Runtime:

1h 39m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 2007 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 14, 2007

Genre(s)
Drama/Crime

Keyword(s)
starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Alex Borstein, directed by Scott Frank, written by Scott Frank, drama, crime, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Roger Moore, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Laurence Mark, Walter F Parkes, MPAA rating R, brain damage, bank janitor, heist, ensemble cast, suspenseful, affecting, noir, realistic characters, psychological thriller, moral dilemma, white-trash heist film, character study, nuanced performances, chilling performance, taut thriller, great script, decent film, familiar, unoriginal

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $5,371,181
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,694,581
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,044
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 839,104

US/Canada gross: $4,600,585
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,590,650
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,729
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,007,000
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,875,164
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,165

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $16,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,921,086
Production budget ranking: 1,292
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,343,005
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$27,569,510
ROI to date (est.): -78%
ROI ranking: 1,865

Cast & Crew

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Chris

Jeff Daniels

Lewis Canfield

Carla Gugino

Chris

Lewis Canfield

Janet

Gary

Luvlee

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Chris
Jeff Daniels – Lewis Canfield
Carla Gugino – Janet
Matthew Goode – Gary
Isla Fisher – Luvlee
Alex Borstein – Miss Lange
Scott Frank – Director/Writer
Gary Barber – Producer
Roger Birnbaum – Producer
Laurence Mark – Producer
Walter F. Parkes – Producer

Scott Frank

Gary Barber

Roger Birnbaum

Laurence Mark

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Scott Frank

Writer(s)
Scott Frank

Producer(s)
Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Laurence Mark, Walter F. Parkes

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
1 win & 11 nominations

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Roger Moore

Derek Malcolm

Tim Robey

Peter Bradshaw

Kevin Maher

Orlando Sentinel

London Evening Standard

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Guardian

Times (UK)

THE LOOKOUT
All Critics (169) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (147) | Rotten (22)
Frank has cooked up an interesting moral dilemma for a character ill-equipped to deal with one. Chris has made one big mistake. Is he up for another?

May 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/5

Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The Lookout is a well made psychological thriller which only disappoints with its ending.

November 2, 2007 | Rating: 3/5

Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
It’s a pity Frank is too busy laying on the wintry atmospherics to make the story grip as it should.

November 2, 2007

Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A cracking armed-robbery thriller.

November 2, 2007 | Rating: 4/5

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film describes emotional and moral rehabilitation in the face of extreme danger.

November 2, 2007 | Rating: 3/5

Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Forgettable fun.

November 1, 2007 | Rating: 3/6

Amy Simmons
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
…unexpectedly menacing and with a palpable tension throughout…

February 24, 2021 | Rating: 4/5

Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
There are too many loopholes in the storyline and an undefined set of rules regarding the main character’s brain damage, which generate more aggravation than satisfaction.

November 26, 2020 | Rating: 5/10

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Gripping, intense and involved with a sympathetic permeating dichotomy, despite a few slips, The Lookout is the film to be on the lookout for this weekend.

November 14, 2019

Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
It uses its strengths to keep you guessing, but it also ensures emotive heft. The movie could have easily been unbalanced, but instead it’s uniquely engaging.

June 15, 2018

Kristy Strouse
Film Inquiry
Strip away the head-trauma hero, and you’re left with a white-trash heist film.

February 9, 2014 | Rating: 3/5

Kevin Carr
7M Pictures
A professional script professionally shot, rather than a personal story burning to be told

August 27, 2009

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion…

Plot
An admired high school hockey player with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girlfriend and two other friends with his headlights off with devastating results. The former athlete is left with a brain injury that prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time. To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do. He also lives with a blind friend who aids him. Obviously, with the mental incapacitation, he is unable to have meaningful work. Thus he works as a night cleaning man in a bank. It is there he comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. The leader befriends him and gets him involved with a young woman who further reels him in. After they get close and after reeling him in with his own failures, the bank plan unfolds. Confused but wanting to escape his current existence, he initially goes along with the scheme. After realizing he is being used, he attempts to stop the robbery, which of course immediately goes awry.

Trivia