Focus 2015 (Movie Review)

Dir: Glen Ficcara and John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie
Dur: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4/5
PG: Lots of foul language. A few romantic scenes and a bit of brutality.

It’s all about deception. You are conscious of only so much. Your mind is usuallly focussed on only a few things. The rest remain just outside of consious awareness. That’s the catch. Where are you looking? Probably exactly where I want you to and at what I want you to. Are you aware of what you just read? If you are you would realize that there were 3 mistakes in the above lines. Focus depicts the exploitation of peoples’ low awareness for personal profit.


Nicky (Will Smith) is an expert con man with a penchant for deception and gambling. He accidentally meets Jess (Margot Robbie) who is herself a budding thief. She tries to rob him but fails as he doesn’t fall for her tricks. She is enamoured by him and subsequently begs him to coach her. She becomes a part of his team and also a part of his life. After a big heist W sends Jess away without so much as an explanation. Three years later, W is hired by a F1 team’s owner, Rafael (Rodrigo Santoro) to keep safe his design of a new and more efficient engine. The con begins but hits a bumper when Jess arrives on the scene. W gets emotionally involved and becomes more focused on winning Jess’ affection than on finishing the job. The story is incredible but could do with a little more editing of dialogues. The cons are well-planned and cause delight. Just who is up to what requires a bit of ‘focus’. The ending is a bit poignant and open-ended. The lead pair is fantastic. Margot is stunning. The film opens the shutters on conmen and their activities and if there is one lesson that comes out strongly, it is ‘always remain focused’.    

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