Another gem of misdirection in Criterion’s ‘Con Collection’ with the inimitable Nic Cage taking the lead. Cage’s performance is…Cage…alternating between charm, pathos, manic intensity, and an over-the-top set of tics. Matchstick Men conforms to the genre’s demand for a giant flip at the end as the con is revealed. In a lot of con movies, that reveal cuts against everything you’ve learned about the characters. But not here. Somehow, the story manages to reverse everything you know with the con while reinforcing everything you think about every character. Which is pretty brilliant. (Criterion)
We are not rational animals, we are animals that must work to be rational
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