Criminal

Year: 2004

Actors: Peter Mullan, Michael Shannon, Jonathan Tucker, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Duration: 87 min

In Los Angeles, Richard Gaddis and a Mexican immigrant named Rodrigo, both small time con men, meet in the progress of one of their cons gone wrong, the other who proves to be the savior in the situation. Richard is looking for someone to replace his old partner, "the Jew", so that he can move onto bigger cons, while Rodrigo is trying to obtain money to help his ill father pay off some major debts. Despite their differences in operation - Richard whose cons are more in your face and he working on the premise that one needs to look rich to get rich, while Rodrigo doesn't like to bring attention to himself and thus his grifting ways - they decide to join forces. Although neither fully trusts the other, their partnership is forged on what the other can do for him: Richard figures that Rodrigo's innocent look can play to their advantage, while Rodrigo - who Richard renames "Brian" to make him seem more Caucasian and thus trustworthy - sees working with Richard as a means to get to his financial goals quicker. After some some small cons as tests to see how the other operates and to see what his strengths and weaknesses may be, they stumble onto a bigger scam which may net them somewhere in the realm of six figures. That scam is to sell a counterfeit currency note produced by one of Richard's old and less than trustworthy associates to a collector in town, they passing the note off as the rare authentic. Beyond their potential take getting diluted with each additional person that is brought in on the scam either from the plan itself or in them needing to adapt to changing circumstances, the scam gets more more complex due to the complicated relationship Richard has with his younger siblings, Valerie and Michael, who work as a concierge and a bellboy at the same upscale hotel where much of the con will take place. But as they are both con men, is one or are both working on a bigger play without the other knowing?—Huggo

Genre: Action   Comedy   Crime   Drama   Thriller