A lecherous drunk at a hotel bar relentlessly goes after a beautiful blonde woman. She escapes by joining a solitary man at his dinner table, pretending the stranger is her boyfriend so the drunk will let her be. The two hit it off and head to the woman’s bedroom upstairs. Suddenly, another man — apparently the woman’s angry husband — barges in with a gun. The twist: it’s all been a scam to steal the solitary man’s wallet.
The bigger twist: he knew the whole time.
So begins “Focus,” starring Will Smith as the duped-but-not-actually-duped loner and Margot Robbie as the beautiful blonde. This scene is a perfect microcosm of the film as a whole — a bit of romance, a bit of conning, a bit of misogyny and a lot of twists.
Jess (Robbie) is professionally curious how Nicky (Smith) figured out her scheme. She pesters Nicky to take her on as an apprentice, and as it turns out, he’s one of the world’s greatest con men. Nicky comes from a family of excellent con men, with his own network of business partners and associates. Eventually Nicky agrees, teaching Jess how to nick watches and wallets without getting caught and allows her to work as an “intern” on a large scale pickpocketing operation at a large New Orleans football game.
Soon, the two not-so-shockingly fall in love. Surprisingly enough, however, this is one of the best aspects of the film. The heist-like schemes are fun to watch, with a gripping drama-filled episode halfway through the movie, but quiet moments between Smith and Robbie stand out as surprisingly tender and convincing.
Yet problems arise, as they inevitably would, when a man who fakes, lies and cheats for a living falls in love for real — it’s hard to say whether or not Nicky’s love is real. He lies so often and so well that not even his best friend can truly vouch for his integrity.
The first act of “Focus” — if we’re looking at “Focus” as a true drama — ends when Jess and Nicky go their separate ways. Fast forward three years: Nicky is pulling a con — and expectedly doing a damn good job at it — when in walks Jess. For the first time in his life, he loses focus.
Here, too, is where the film begins to flounder and lose its own focus. The first act is all fun and fraudulence, but the stakes now seem raised because Nicky’s emotions are on the line. But instead of heightened drama, the result is melodrama. “Focus” partially redeems itself with its third act, jam-packed with whiplash-inducing twists and turns. It also picks up the pace significantly, but this only highlights the slow pace of act two.
Perhaps the finale could have saved “Focus” were it not for the dearth of female characters. Jess is the only woman with a speaking role in the entire film, and when she does speak, it’s mostly to complain, jokingly tease Nicky or express her inferiority. Jess is continually used as a pawn in Nicky’s cons, a beautiful distraction so the men can do the real work. She’s the butt of the joke, made more insulting by the fact that she’s sleeping with her boss.
Case in point: Early in the film, Nicky and his friend, Farhad (Adrian Martinez), are driving to headquarters. Farhad asks him, “You hitting that?” in reference to Jess. “I’m right here,” she says from the backseat, waving her hand as Farhad continues to ignore her. “You should be hitting that,” he says.
This mediocre attempt at a self-aware joke shows exactly Jess’s role in the film. Yes, she’s determined, but in a cute way. Yes, she’s successful, but not nearly as successful as Nicky. It’s frustrating, especially for a movie that’s supposed to be fun.
If you get past the disappointing sexism, “Focus” is entertaining. Robbie and Smith have great chemistry and command of the screen. Martinez, when he’s not making sexist jokes, is actually very funny. The cinematography is sleek and clever (think: trick shots with mirrors), much like Nicky’s cons, and not much is really as it seems. All it asks is that the audience focus on those parts, and turn an eye from the others.
