Rapid Response: The Old Man and the Gun (Patreon)

I said I'd review more current films and here is the first I've been to the cinema to see in a long time. It certainly doesn't fit into Dark Corners usual remit so I'll start with the only real cult connection (beside the presence of Sissy Spacek), the character Redford plays is named Forrest Tucker. I don't know if this is the real name of the man on whom this 'mostly true' story is based, but Forrest Tucker was an actor best known for sitcom F-Troop but who also appeared as The American in a bunch of British B movies including The Trollenberg Terror and The Abominable Snowman. If it's an in-reference of some sort, I can't guess why, but I liked noticing it.
Now to the film itself - put simply; I really enjoyed it. The performances are great, the script is beautifully understated and funny in a quiet way, and the knowing references to past Redford movies really appealed to me. Increasingly this is the kind of movie I seek out; nothing earth shattering and no one trying to save the world, but just a good story about engaging characters, well told. I cared more about the fates of Redford, Spacek and Affleck than I ever have about the fate of the planet in a superhero movie. I can't be sure if the message is that it's very hard to change who you are, or that no matter how old you get, there's no need to change, but either way it manages to be a feelgood movie (a phrase I hate) in the best possible way.
Redford has suggested that this will be his last film. He will be missed, he's a rare actor who has managed to continue doing good, interesting and different work into later life (check out the amazing All is Lost), but if this is his swansong, then he goes out on a high. rb