Life of Crime (2013) ***

 

Between his westerns and his crime novels, author Elmore Leonard has had his share of books adapted into movies. One of his best adaptations, most would agree, was Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film, “Jackie Brown.” Based on Leonard's novel, Rum Punch, it featured a colorful cast of characters circling around a trove of drug money. Two of those characters were Ordell, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and Louis, played by Robert De Niro.

2013's dark comedy “Life of Crime,” based on Leonard' novel The Switch, features the exploits of those two knuckleheads preceding the events of “Jackie Brown.” It's the late 70's, and Louis and Ordell decide to kidnap rich socialite Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston). They figure on a fat ransom, little knowing that her husband (Tim Robbins) has a mistress (Isla Fisher) and is planning to file for divorce.

This time around, Louis is played by John Hawkes, and Ordell by Yasiin Bey (formerly known as the rapper Mos Def). These guys clearly don't bring the star power of Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro, but they bring their own charm to the roles. Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher are excellent, as is Will Forte as Mickey's milquetoast lover.

Aniston is just alright. She gives the same blankly-staring, flat-affect performance that she always gives. I can never exactly pinpoint a fault in her acting, but as beautiful and stylish as she is in real life, she always fails to light up the screen.

Aniston notwithstanding, it's a great cast, yet “Life of Crime” is not in the same league as “Jackie Brown.” Director Daniel Schecter seems to have trouble finding and maintaining his tone. He also fetishizes period details to a distracting extent. The film is set in 1978, so every car has to be from that year, and every outfit has to be period-perfect. In real life, everyone doesn't just buy everything all in the same year. People have cars and clothes from 5, 10, 15 years ago, all mixed together.

It may be an unfair comparison. Leonard wrote The Switch in 1978 and Rum Punch in 1992, but Hollywood switched the order of things by adapting Rum Punch first, into “Jackie Brown,” which was the kind of classic that revives careers and sticks with you. It's hard to live up to that. Without that legacy to carry, “Life of Crime” could be enjoyed as what it is, a fairly entertaining, darkly funny, popcorn movie.

3 stars out of 5