The Lookout is far more thrilling before it turns into a thriller. It opens as a character study of Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a former high-school athlete who is struggling to recover from severe head trauma he suffered in a car crash. The riveting Gordon-Levitt draws us directly into the quiet drama of Chris’ everyday life, but writer-director Scott Frank (Out of Sight) adds on a crime subplot when Chris gets caught up in the planning of a bank heist. The Lookout didn’t need a robbery to hold our attention. Gordon-Levitt’s talent would have been enough.
