Focus [Includes Digital Copy]

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa Glenn Ficarra

Overview

Nicky has studied the science of human nature his whole life, and understands precisely how to earn anyone's trust, or fool them into never noticing he's stealing their watch, or wallet, or anything they might have that Nicky can sell. In the movie's opening sequence, he's eating at a New York restaurant when the gorgeous Jess approaches his table and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend so that she can avoid a particularly determined guy at the bar who won't stop hitting on her. The two of them hit it off, but he quickly figures out that she's running a scam on him and soon turns the tables on her and her partner. Undaunted, Jess begs Nicky to teach her what he knows about the criminal life, and he brings her in on a plan to steal from as many people as possible during Super Bowl week in New Orleans. She turns out to be a natural, and quickly learns the ropes of this unscrupulous world. Nicky and Jess seem to be falling for each other, but Nicky's actions at the end of their New Orleans trip force Jess to reassess their relationship. Three years later, Nicky enters into a deal with Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro), a wealthy playboy who has a software program that will help his Formula 1 team triumph. Nicky agrees to help Garriga sell a fake version of the program to his competitors, but as the plan goes into motion he discovers Jess and Garriga are a couple. As old feelings complicate the new arrangement, Nicky must also contend with the no-nonsense Owens (Gerald McRaney), Garriga's head-of-security who openly distrusts Nicky.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/02/2015
UPC:	0883929423996
Original Release:	2015
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	36,643

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Will Smith	Nicky
Margot Robbie	Jess
Adrian Martinez	Farhad
Gerald McRaney	Owens
Rodrigo Santoro	Garriga
B.D. Wong	Liyuan
Brennan Brown	Horst
Dotan Bonen	Gordon
Griff Furst	Gareth
Stephanie Honoré	Janice
David Stanford	Drunken Stranger
Dominic Fumusa	Jared
Steve Kim	Liyuans Bodyguard
Don Yesso	Card Player/Football Coach
Juan Minujín	Marcello
Jano Seitun	Bartender
Melania Lenoir	Pretty Woman
Pietro Gian	Massive Security Guard
Justina Bustos	Blonde Bartender
Paula Brasca	Saleswoman
Antonella Macchi	Apollonia
Aaron Jay Rome	Bartender
Armando Leduc	Bald Guy
Jon Eyez	Bruiser
Clay Chamberlin	Mark #1
Danny Ladmirault	Mark #2,Mark #2
Chip Carriere	Lead Official
Daniella Short	Naked Woman
Frank Monteleone	Tech
Alan Sabbagh	Team Argentina Head Engineer
Hervé Segata	France Team Engineer
Jorge Takashima	Team Korea Engineer
Pierre Marquille	HIRT Team Owner
Danny Pardo	Soccer Narrator
Nas Mehdi	Head of Team India
Federico Bongiorno	Head of Team Russia
Kate Adair	Tourist Thief
Billy Slaughter	Passing Thief
Lindsay Clift	Another Thief
Thomas Murphy	Hustler
Nicoye Banks	Card Sharp
Ruy Gatti	French Tech
Cacilie Hughes	Jenny
Alvin Chon	Liyuan's Bodyguard #2
Brett Baker	Another Thief #2
Taylor Persh	Sous Chef
Mariano Bertolini	Waiter
Scott Jefferson	Add'l McEwen Tech
Billy Louviere	Rowdy Guy #1
Thomas Thomason	Rowdy Guy #2
Antonella Saldicco	Party Guest #1
Joaquin Berthold	Party Guest #2
Martin Covert	Doctor
Apollo Robbins	Apollo
Michael Dardant	Card Mechanic #1
Victor Moran	Card Mechanic #2
Eric McMullen	DOC
Han Soto	Head of Team Japan
Yeshi Tenzin	Head of Team Japan #2
Laney Chouest	Head of Team
Darrell Foster	Head of Team Italy
Hilary Tuttle	Waitress Thief
Guillermo Miguel	Team Argentina
Nina Leon	BA Reporter
Nick Reasons	Sideline Reporter
Chris Dieker	Coin Toss Rhino
Stevie Baggs Jr.	Coin Toss Thresher
Thomas Holley	Announcer #1
Walter Prestenberg Jr.	Announcer #2
Nicholas Harris	Interview Thresher
Patrick O'Hara	Team Owner
David Haines	Nicky's Crew Tommy
Steve Hammond	Cafe Host Mark
Derrick Townsend	Frat Guy #1
Robert Taylor	Actor
Nick Urata	Composer

Technical Credits

Glenn Ficarra

John Requa

Glenn Ficarra	Screenwriter,Director
John Requa	Screenwriter,Director
Charlie Gogolak	Executive Producer
Stan Wlodkowski	Executive Producer
Denise Di Novi	Producer
Tiffany Canfield	Casting

Editorial Reviews

An early scene in Focus has expert con man Nicky (Will Smith) teaching his beautiful protégé Jess (Margot Robbie) that you never break character, and that you always "die with the lie." Although that initially sounds like the motto of a sociopath, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa spend the rest of the movie showing us that it's actually the con-man equivalent of "'til death do us part." Nicky has studied human nature his whole life, and he understands precisely how to earn anybody's trust: He can fool someone into never noticing he's stealing their watch, or their wallet, or anything else they have that might be valuable. In the movie's opening sequence, he's eating at a New York restaurant when the gorgeous Jess approaches his table and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend so she can avoid a particularly determined guy at the bar who's making a pass at her. The two hit it off, but he soon figures out that she's running a scam on him and turns the tables on her and her partner. Undaunted, Jess begs Nicky to teach her what he knows about the criminal life, and so he brings her in on a plan to scam as many people as possible during Super Bowl week in New Orleans. She turns out to be a natural, and quickly learns the ropes of this unscrupulous world. Nicky and Jess seem to be falling for each other, but Nicky's actions at the end of their trip force Jess to reassess their relationship. Three years later, Nicky enters into a deal with Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro), a wealthy playboy who has a software program that will help his Formula 1 team triumph. Nicky agrees to help Garriga sell a fake version of the program to his competitors, but as the plan goes into motion he discovers that Jess and Garriga are a couple. As old feelings complicate this arrangement, Nicky must also contend with Owens (Gerald McRaney), Garriga's no-nonsense head of security who openly distrusts him. Ficarra and Requa, who co-wrote the script and co-directed the movie, have a knack for coming up with punchy dialogue -- almost every character gets a memorable joke. The cinematography is beautiful, everyone looks great, and the exotic locations are given a fashion-magazine gloss. They've also structured the story brilliantly by putting us in Jess' POV during the film's first half. She's a newcomer to this world, and through her experiences we learn the cool con-game jargon and elaborate scams that will make you think twice about using your credit or ATM card on vacation. The leads are appealing together, and that turns out to be the most crucial element of the movie; Focus is less interested in con artists getting away with tons of money than it is in exploring how difficult it is for people who lie for a living to fall in love and convince others of that love. Tony Gilroy's Duplicity, with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, covered much of this territory better, but Focus is still an undeniably entertaining film. The performers win you over, especially Adrian Martinez as Farhad, Nicky's most trusted (which is a relative thing in their world) partner-in-crime, and B.D. Wong as a wealthy gambling addict. Stories about con artists are perfect fodder for movies. After all, what actor doesn't want to play someone charming enough to manipulate others? The pitfall of portraying flimflam men onscreen, though, is that a smart viewer will be poised to watch everything that transpires even more closely than he or she normally would. Focus avoids that trap by giving audiences so much surface pleasure that, even if the filmmakers' attempts at misdirection fail, you can enjoy the game the characters are playing.