Film: “Going in Style”; Director: Zach Braff; Cast: Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, Ann-Margret, John Ortiz, Peter Serafinowicz, Joey King, Kenan Thompson, Matt Dillon, Christopher Lloyd, Josh Pais, Maria Dizzia, Anthony Chisholm and Annabelle Chow; Rating: **
Evidently, there is nothing stylish about the film “Going in Style”, except for the retirement plans of its protagonist, the three elderly gentlemen who with nothing to lose, plan a perfect heist for not receiving their pension funds.
Beneath this straight-jacket heist, there is a deeper message relayed about living your life until the very end and not sitting back and letting others ruin your life.
It is adapted from the 1979 eponymous film, which was based on a short story by Edward Cannon. The film was directed by Martin Brest and starred George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg ad Charles Hallahan.
In Zach Braff’s version, we have Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin playing Joe, Willie and Albert. They are co-workers and friends, who live off modest pensions and spend their free time hanging out. Faced with mounting bills and no way to pay them, they decide on an unconventional solution: to rob a bank.
The trio with contrasting personalities, bring both a mischievous wit and a sense of subdued anger to the familiar comic plotline and the film achieves a rare balance of laughter and compassion. Unfortunately, this is not one of their best performances.
Nevertheless, it is great just watching these great actors; dismissing off their own mortality and getting emotional at the sight of their grand daughters, or just bantering with each other over routine, real-life issues.
The background score along with the songs, “This is a mean old world to live all by yourself,” and “What a difference a day made,” are effectively used to rev up the emotional quotient.
One of the main problems of the film is its pace. The setup seems to take forever.
Half of the film is devoted to introducing the characters and establishing their relationships and making sure that the viewer is aware that these are good guys not criminals as they have been cheated by the system; robbed of their pension by greedy banks and corrupt corporations and forgotten by society which is supposed to protect them.
Also, being in the internet era, the plot simply seems a bit outdated and plain ridiculous. The credibility factor is off the charts, as the writing is not up to the mark, to say the least. It is far from perfect and it can even be cringe-worthy at times.
By Troy Ribeiro
