Movie Review – Focus (2015 film)

Focus (2015 film) directed and written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa grossed US$158 million. It is a crime comedy-drama film which is suitable to watch on Sundays. A con man is a person who tricks other people to get their property and money. Con-man Nicky Spurgeon(Will Smith) met another con artist Jess Barrett(Margot Robbie). At first, she wanted to blackmail Nicky but failed. Later, they collaborated and developed a romantic relationship together. They aimed to steal the EXR. There were lots of twists and turns during their collaboration. In the end, Nicky’s parentage was revealed. He stole a luxury product and gave it to Jess.

Why do people become criminals when there are so many different kinds of work fields? There are many reasons for people to join the field. Poverty, peer Influence and facing adversity are the main reasons for criminals to commit crimes. The intention for commenting on crime for each criminal is highly complex.

Criminology provides insights into criminal behavior causes according to psychological issues, social influences, economic conditions, and environmental factors. Understanding crime’s societal impact is essential for developing effective crime prevention, and intervention strategies.

What are the pros and cons of working in the criminal field? People steal things to make a living. As they are doing things that are prohibited and against the norm, they may gain some excitement at the beginning. They gain weird recognition for doing bad things.

The con artists do not have any friends just like members of triads, killers. They only focus on their benefits neglecting other people. The frauds do not trust other people. The frauds face hypocrisy and falsehood in the industry. Working in this field, if they lose their focus, their lives will be ended by their adversaries. When they steal things successfully, they also break the trust of people. People in the Jianghu are good at dealing with people on the surface but they are cold-heart. It is hard for con artists to collaborate. 

Behind every successful man there is a woman. In the series James Bone, there are Bond girls who play significant supporting roles to James Bone. In this film, Jess is the one who supports Nicky. She looks like a femme fatale. She uses her captivating beauty to seduce her target. As dukes and wealthy merchants are usually the target of fraud, the mastermind of the criminals will arrange a femme fatale to appear near the targets. Gentlemen prefer blondes. Being beautiful is a must to finish the mission. Usually, men are the predators. This time, the femme fatale becomes an espionage to get the prey. She turns her beauty into her weapon and casts a spell on her target. In other crime movies such as Red Notice, The Tourist and Once a Thief, there are beautiful and witty women to execute their missions as well. However, the honey trap cannot be applied without the planning from the mastermind which is Nicky’s tactic. Females do not use their bodies to get the resources as they are not prostitutes. Instead, the female sexual appeal is just like a flower that people cannot endure to appreciate its beauty. To appreciate the beauty, the gentlemen are not meant to give gifts to the femme fatale. For instance, Scarlett Johansson has been acting as the femme fatale in different films. However, gifts are not what the criminals want. That is just the beginning of executing her mission. 

The mind-blowing scene in this film is the scene of the boss Liyuan Tse playing games with Nick and Jess. If they guess the right number from his mind, they can win his money. He thinks that the number he picked is his intuition. It is a total setup by the fraud Nicky. Nicky knows that the boss loves to play and bet. He sets the Liyuan Tse up. Before he arrives at the venue to watch the Super Bowl, he arranges all other frauds to show him the number he designed, the Number 55. 

He tries to program him to pick 55 from his arrival. It is similar to what you think about during the day, you dream about it at night. He really picks the number Nicky designed. Nicky and Jess win the bet. It is not complicated to edit the scene. However, every single design of the scene has to be very attentive which makes the designed number appear on the screen constantly such as on the elevator, in the lobby and the stick pin.

In addition, in terms of the performance of the star actor and actress, the pair of Will Smith and Margot Robbie are eye-catching as the contrast of their skin colors and their looks. Will Smith is well known for being a good man in Hollywood. However, his recent scandal is that he slapped the host at the Oscar ceremony in 2022. At the same time, he won the best actor Oscar for King Richard. It was a dramatic farce in the grand ceremony. He acted well in the film but his repulsive behaviour in the ceremony makes people speechless. In China, the Great Learning says: "Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world". People will look up to the celebrities. The ability and the temperature of the celebrity are not separated. He gave a bad impression to the audience. On the other hand, the Australian actress Margot Robbie makes great effort in her acting work in different movies such as Barbie, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Suicide Squad. Her wild side of her look made her fit in different roles. 

To conclude, it is overwhelmingly impressive about the money heisting in this film. This kind of film is not just for the entertainment. It makes the audiences stay alert in their daily lives. Fraudsters have come up with a variety of tricks when they see the opportunities. It is a reminder for the audience to be aware and pay attention to their surroundings and people who are too nice. It is said that when talking to a stranger, it is wise to be somewhat reserved. In real life, people have to stay focused.

Reference: 

https://www.alliant.edu/blog/why-do-people-commit-crimes

https://thesis.unipd.it/retrieve/6e095ec5-ff9f-4d51-ba70-c36624028273/Alessia_D%27Agostini_2008184.pdf