Smith and Robbie Soar in ‘Focus’

By Eileen McClean

Focus, a film that blends the crime, comedy and romance genres, was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and stars Will Smith (Men in Black) and Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street). The story involves Nick (Smith), a criminal who meets Jess (Robbie) and makes her a part of his team of con artists.
Smith and Robbie are both very likeable actors and have good chemistry together; their romance feels natural and believable. After a few less-than-successful movies (i.e., After Earth), it is nice to see Smith’s career back on track with this crowd pleaser that is projected to make a lot more box office money than many of his latest efforts. In her first starring role since her breakout role in The Wolf of Wall Street, Robbie shows the potential to become a very popular Hollywood actress.

The film itself seems oddly old fashioned, reminding me a little bit of witty movies from the 1940s or classic film noir films. The shot of Robbie’s character on the staircase about half way through the film is a not so subtle reference to the 1944 classic Double Indemnity. Focus’s use of music is very effective and is, in my opinion, one of the film’s best qualities. The overall tone of the film is light-hearted, but not silly, and the actors make the audience really care about the characters. As for the plot, Focus kept me guessing the whole time and, while the pay-off is occasionally a little too far-fetched, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the film. Two scenes in particular are especially well crafted: the scene at the Super Bowl and the scene (minor spoiler here) with the car crash. Focus is definitely worth seeing.