For six decades, Hollywood icon Robert Redford has been lighting up our cinema screens. From the likes of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to The Sting, through to later efforts like A River Runs Through It and The Last Castle, Redford has consistently delivered the goods. With The Old Man and the Gun, the actor delivers his reported final performance, which may be one of his best yet.
Fox
The Old Man and The Gun DVD review
The story takes place predominantly in the early 1980s where we meet Redford’s Forrest Tucker, a seasoned career criminal with a string of bank robberies behind him and, at the ripe old age of 70, shows no sign of slowing down. We meet him in the middle of one such robbery, the ‘old man’ of the tile during his latest theft, the taking of a bank with Tucker smiling and winking his way through proceedings. After swapping getaway cars to avoid being tracked by local law enforcement, Tucker swings by a marooned motorist, Sissy Spacek’s Jewel, stranded at the side of the road, hood up signalling a serious problem with her mobility. Tucker stops to aid her as a stream of siren-blaring police vehicles zoom past. The two spark up an immediate friendship and we track their relationship over the coming weeks and month, a time where Tucker continues of his quest to relieve every bank of their cash across numerous southern states.
Related: The Old Man and the Gun (theatrical review)
To say that The Old Man and the Gun is a sweet-natured, totally worthy tribute to its lead actor is a massive understatement. The film delights from start to finish and showcases Hollywood legend Redford’s talents and extreme screen presence throughout. It’s a perfect swan song for the seasoned actor – if that’s what it turns out to be – and features a brilliant supporting cast that includes Casey Affleck as the family man/policeman hot on the trail of Tucker and the ‘Over the Hill Gang’ – Danny Glover and Tom Waits play the other two members – as well as Spacek in a brilliant turn as the bewildered but loyal latter-life companion in Jewel.
David O’Lowery’s nostalgic lens is accompanied by a wonderful look courtesy of Joe Anderson’s Super 16mm cinematography and some wonderful stock footage of Redford in his younger years. There are scenes with Redford in high speed car chases, on horseback, and doing hard-time in jail, all throw backs to previous roles during his illustrious career.
That alone is worthy of the cost of the disc, but the bonus material on offer makes it even more a must-grab. As well as O’Lowery’s detailed commentary over the film’s tight 90-minute running time, there are short featurettes – one a simple chat between the filmmaker and his lead actor, who not only talk about the process of making The Old Man and the Gun, but also the impact and benefit of Reford’s Sundance Institute on O’Lowery and his peers’ career so far. It’s a great watch. There are also deleted scenes – or ‘Everything Else We Shot’ – as it is called on the release, as well as theatrical trailers and a photo gallery. The only thing missing is a Blu-ray release, which, as far as I can see, isn’t available presently. HD connoisseurs will have to opt for the digital version.
The Old Man and the Gun is must for Redford devotees, but also for cinema aficionados. A sweet, respectful ode to a man and his career, while also being a film worthy of merit as a stand alone. I loved it.
The Old Man and the Gun is now available on digital download, VOD and DVD.
