Life of Crime

Louis Gara (Hawkes) and Ordell Robbie (Bey) are low level ex-cons in need of cash.  Through their connections they learn that real-estate developer Frank Dawson (Robbins) has a sizable fortune in off-shore accounts.  They set a plan in motion to kidnap his socialite wife Mickey (Aniston) and get a hefty ransom for her return.

However, nothing goes according to plans.  Their kidnapping is interrupted by family friend Marshall (Forte), who wants to have an affair with Mickey.  Meanwhile, Frank is in the Bahamas with his mistress Melanie (Fischer) and doesn't want to pay the ransom.


This film is based on Leonard Elmore's 1978 novel "The Switch."  Elmore revisited the main characters again in his 1992 novel "Rum Punch" which was adapted by Quentin Tarantino into the film Jackie Brown.  The films are not canon with each other, so the characters that appear in both films are not necessarily meant to be exact copies of each other.  I've never seen Jackie Brown, or read Elmore's novel, but due to the high caliber of the main cast, decided to give the film a chance.

The plot is similar to Ruthless People, which is a knock-off of Elmore's novel, and is more comedy based than this film.  I enjoyed this film.  The story is interesting and keeps you guessing (love the twist at the end).  The cast is great.  Yasiin Bey (also known as Mos Def) and John Hawkes are great as the criminals.  Both are charismatic and command the screen.  Jennifer Aniston is a good choice for Mickey and does well with the material.  I enjoy seeing Will Forte in dramatic roles, and his character provides some of the comedy of the film.  Isla Fischer is conniving as Melanie and has great chemistry with Bey and Tim Robbins.

A good film that makes me want to read the original source material, and it's sequel, and watch Jackie Brown and Ruthless People.

Life of Crime (2013) 98 minutes
Rating: R for language, some sexual content and violence
Director: Daniel Schechter
Starring: Jennifer Aniston as Mickey Dawson
Yasiin Bey as Ordell Robbie
John Hawkes as Louis Gara
Isla Fischer as Melanie
Will Forte as Marshall Tyler
Mark Boone Junior as Richard Monk
Tim Robbins as Frank Dawson