Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Elmore Leonard (novel) and Scott Frank (screenplay)
Starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames and Steve Zahn
Rated R
Runtime: 2 hours and 3 minutes
Now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber

by Matthew McCafferty, Staff Writer

Confident, cool and stylized to the perfect degree, Out of Sight might actually be Steven Soderbergh’s best heist movie. I revisited this for the first time in over ten years as a recent Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber’s Studio Classics. As it turns out, I had even more fun with it on this go-around than I did last time. The opening scene that leads to a freeze frame of Clooney in the middle of a tantrum is the first reminder that Soderbergh was intent to go all-in on his now trademark filmmaking techniques and style. The 1998 crime caper based on the Elmore Leonard novels serves as a sort-of blueprint for the kind of movies Soderbergh would make moving forward. Fast-paced, highly stylized and undeniably entertaining.

With Clooney coming off of Batman and Robin and The Peacemaker, this turned out to be a crucial role in his career, almost like a mini-rebuild of his reputation. Clooney plays Jack Foley, a career bank robber who shares a car trunk with US Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) during his escape from a Florida prison. With this brief interaction, Clooney and Lopez immediately set the stage with romantic tension that the two of them play with throughout the film. Once they part ways after their time in the trunk, things move at a pretty fast clip. Foley and his two partners, Buddy (Ving Rhames) and Glenn (Steve Zahn), make their way to a wealthy neighborhood in Detroit with the plan to steal a load of uncut diamonds from a businessman they met in prison. At the same time, thanks to Glenn’s big mouth, Maurice (Don Cheadle), a much more vicious criminal than the three of them, is also on his way with his own crew to steal the diamonds.

With the help of a bouncy jazz score, snappy dialogue, some wonderful editing (thanks to Anne V. Coates) and a nonlinear story that includes some fun prison flashback scenes thrown in, the movie flies by with a high energy that doesn’t let up. A scene in a Detroit hotel is the only time we get to catch our breath. For those more familiar with Ocean’s Eleven, this has a similar manic pace to it. Only, Out of Sight feels a little more impulsive. Less calculated in many ways. It relies a bit more on happenstance to move things forward at times. There’s also some graphic violence that I completely forgot about. I should also mention that it also has a comparable ensemble cast to Ocean’s Eleven. Clooney and Lopez are the obvious leads. But you also get Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Don Cheadle, Catherine Keener, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Michael Keaton, Luis Guzman, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Out of Sight is a stylistic heist movie on the surface. I guess you could generally classify it as a crime comedy. However, it’s the Clooney/Lopez romance that sets it apart from being just another version of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which also came out in 1998. What helps make their chemistry feel so believable is that the two of them are playing roles that seem specifically written for them. Neither of them stretch past their ranges from what we’ve seen them both do plenty of times over their careers. Which is not a bad thing. Playing characters that match their strengths is what makes it work.

What stood out to me most on this rewatch wasn’t necessarily the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez or just how much fun the movie was. In the back of my mind, I already knew it was a breezy, entertaining watch from what I could remember of it when I first saw it ten years ago. This time around, I found myself more interested in the depth of Clooney’s character, Jack Foley, the bad guy who isn’t really a bad guy. It’s an intriguing concept that we’ve seen countless times in movies and TV over the years. When it works, it works. It’s funny how easy it is to be on Foley’s side right from the get-go. As the film went on, I found myself asking if this is a character I should actually be rooting for. To no one’s surprise, Clooney is terrific at distracting you with his wit and charm.

Talking about George Clooney’s charm is obviously nothing new to the world. My observation here is more so about the fact that Foley’s intentions are an interesting study when you look past some of the distractions of his personality. I haven’t read the book, but I’m guessing Elmore Leonard gives us even more insight as to what makes this character tick. Foley is trapped in a life he can’t escape. The risk vs. reward is too high for him to ignore. Because he’s so good at what he does, the reward is highly attainable. It’s a temptation he will never be able to shake. We all like to do the things that we are really good at. It feels good to be good at something. When you find it, you stick with it. That’s bank robbing for Foley. It’s an unfortunate thing to be so good at. Sympathizing with Foley on a certain level on this watch made this more than just another fun, entertaining Soderbergh film.