MYST Post #4 Stand Up Guys

In this film, Walken and Pacino get together in their old age to create a new type of gangster film. This gangster film does not rely on violence to grab a viewers attention. This film is interesting because of it's plot. In Stand Up Guys, Val (Pacino) has just been  released from prison after a 28 year stint in prison. He and Doc (Walken) are the only two of their old crew that have stayed in touch over the years. Doc sent Val care packages and paintings while he was in prison. Once Val is out, he wants to get back to his old partying ways. Doc assists Val while he is on his partying
surge. Val quickly realizes that he is not the same as when he was younger. Meanwhile, Doc has orders to take out Val
from a mafia boss. Val was sent to prison because he had murdered the Mafia Boss' son accidentally during a robbery gone wrong. Doc does not want to kill Val, but has to do it on 24 hours. Val quickly realizes Doc's situation and is beginning to accept that he only has 24 hours left to live. The two try to come up with solutions while at dinner at a diner. At the diner, Val meets Doc's friend who is a waitress at the diner. Val learns that Doc is a regular customer at the diner. Later it is found out that the waitress is Doc's granddaughter but she does not know. Val and Doc meet up with some of the old crew and find a girl in the trunk of a car they stole. The girl explains she has been kidnapped by some "punks." Val and Doc decide to bring street justice to them. The enter in the guys compound where 5 men are staying. They eventually tie the men up and leave them to the women who now has a baseball bat. Afterwards, Doc and Val have bonded and there is now no way Doc can kill Val. The two decide to try to kill the mafia boss. Before the shootout, Doc leaves a letter for the waitress explaining the situation, and some money that he has left her.

I give this movie 3 out of 4 stars. The plot is interesting but the ending could have been better. Critics have a wide range of ratings on this film as well. This film is much different than typical Scorscese and Tarantino gangster films. Profanity and violence are not heavily used. The film tries to rely on plot to peak the viewers interest. I personally liked it because I am a fan of both Pacino and Walken. If you are not a fan of these two than this film would not be particularly interesting to you. I thought that as these two begin to get up in age, that is was cool that they made a movie about it but showed how they still have a roughness about them.

One scene that was particularly interesting to me, is the scene in which Walken and Pacino are picking out new suits. The two have broken into an expensive suit shop without tripping an alarm. They have all the time they need to pick out new suits. There is an irony about the situation. Pacino at this point is picking out what may be the clothes he dies in. Walken is resistant to change and is reluctant to pick out a new suit. This scene touches the emotions of the viewer because time is running out for Val. Val is beginning to become saddened by the situation and this emotion is extended to the viewer. This scene stuck out to me because there are so many things going on. Doc shows how he is still stuck in his old ways, Val begins to become sad, and then this is all twisted when two mafia henchmen arrive to finish the job they believe Doc will not be able to do. Doc and Val take care of the henchmen and officially decide it is time to take care of the mafia boss.

To me, the cinematic elements of this film are not complex. Many critics have said that the cinematic elements bring this film down. There are many things the director tries to use. For instance, in the scene mentioned earlier, the director uses a mirror to foreshadow the next action but also to amplify the gravity of the moment. There is also the use of deep space composition various times throughout the film. The camera is shot from the ground up to show the view point of Val and Doc as they shoot upwards at the mafia boss in the final scene. overall, I did not feel the job by the director was anything special in this film but was not anything to bash either.