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The Old Man & the Gun, directed by David Lowery (PG-13, 1 hour, 33 minutes) A fact-based story of a geriatric bank robber becomes appealing in the hands of perennial leading man Robert Redford. Charming as ever (his Hollywood career spans more than 50 years), he turns a criminal character into the sort of jaunty anti-hero that audiences can’t help but root for in aptly named The Old Man & the Gun.
Echoing the sentiments of the Clash song (Daddy was a bank robber, who never hurt nobody/He just love to live that way, he loved to take your money), he plays Forrest Tucker who, despite being arrested over and over and having escaped some formidable lockups including Alcatraz, just can’t let go.
Making his reputation on being disarmingly polite while quietly making it known to bank employ-
● ees that he’s packing, Forrest goes about his business. Two factors serve to interrupt his illegal activities: meeting quietly entrancing Jewel (Sissy Spacek), and being tracked by dogged yet sometimes ineffective detective John Hunt (played with a bold mixture of swagger and cluelessness by Casey Affleck).
As avenues for escape get cut off, it’s clear that no good can come of this. But that doesn’t mean there’s doom in Forrest’s future. And the route to get there is worth taking.
Jonathan (not rated, 1 hour, 35 minutes) A vaguely plotted sci-fi fantasy with too many loose ends somehow manages to make just enough sense to get by. The tale involves two brothers (played by Ansel Elgort of Baby Driver) who live separate lives inside the same body. That works out OK until they both become enamored of the same woman (Suki Waterhouse). With Patricia Clarkson, Matt Bomer, Douglas Hodge; directed by Bill Oliver.
Madeline’s Madeline (not rated, 1 hour, 33 minutes) Visually appealing and wide open to interpretation by its audience, this emotionally complicated drama concerns a talented teenager (charismatic newcomer Helena Howard), a member of a prestigious physical theater troupe, who finds that her overworked imagination and messy family back story is getting entangled with her performances. With Molly Parker, Miranda July; directed by Josephine Decker.
Speed Kills (R, 1 hour, 42 minutes) Got some time to kill? Spend it with John Travolta, who plays an ultra-rich speedboat racing champion who inexplicably has a side career as a drug trafficker, much to the consternation of the DEA and area gangsters. It’s a waste of time and makes no sense, but those who follow Travolta’s ups and downs might enjoy seeing one one of his more pointless performances. With Katheryn Winnick, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Weston, Matthew Modine; directed by Jodi Scurfield.
The Bookshop (PG, 1 hour, 53 minutes) This is what happens — not much of anything — when yet another lively, eccentric and determined British widow (Emily Mortimer), at loose ends like so many of her cohorts, decides to open a bookshop in a town that has no need for one. With Bill Nighy, James Lance, Patricia Clarkson; directed by Isabel Coixet.