OUT OF SIGHT

SYNOPSIS:
Jack Foley (George Clooney) is a laid back professional bank robber. After his latest heist, however, he's caught. In jail, he learns of an upcoming prison break, and manages to get in on it. Federal Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) gets caught up in the breakout; with her gun aimed at Jack, she's surprised by his old friend and former prison mate, Buddy Bragg (Ving Rhames). She is thrown in the trunk of Jack’s car – where Jack also hides. When the third partner, Glenn Michaels (Steve Zahn) unexpectedly drives off, Karen manages to escape but can't get her mind off Jack, much to her father, Marshall Sisco’s (Dennis Farina) amusement. Karen follows Jack and his crew to Detroit where they're planning to rob wealthy Richard Ripley (Albert Brooks), who once spent time in jail with all of them for white collar crimes. But there is another gang after the Ripley mansion safe. In the shootout, Karen has to manage her inner conflict between her duty to uphold the law and her growing affection for Jack.

"Romantic comedy with hip attitude meets hard nosed thriller with cool written all over it. The hero is naughty but nice, the heroine sassy but decent, the story is heist-driven but somehow justifiable. If this makes Elmore Leonard’s work sound a bit, well, ordinaire, and Soderbergh’s film predictable, it’s not meant to. As always, it’s not what you do but how you do it, and here everyone does it very well indeed. It has unpredictable elements, such as Karen’s dad and her fading lover, (an uncredited Michael Keaton) and the amazingly effective Steve Zahn as Glenn Michaels, a rusty bumper bar waiting to hit something. It is sophisticated but not self conscious, it is entertaining but not mindless; perhaps this is in the comic-thriller vein of North By Northwest – although this is not meant as a comparison. There is the playful sexuality, the danger, the intrigue and the baddies. Perez and Clooney are terrific together, their character differences bringing them together, like the two elements that make Araldite the glue of choice."
Andrew L. Urban

"The rhythm of Out of Sight reminds me a little of syncopated notes in music, when accents are placed on parts of a bar that are usually not accented. In the case of Out of Sight, Soderbergh’s quirky storytelling rhythms makes the tale compelling and unique, by the very way that it is told. Here is a story that engages and intrigues because the characters are not only well drawn, but offer twists and peculiarities. There are many examples which accent the contradictions of human nature. Under the skilled directorial baton of Soderbergh, the characters come to life, in what is a funky, funny, offbeat and hugely entertaining film. George Clooney (think Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief) is marvellous as Jack – smooth, debonair and rogue-ish all at once. Jennifer Lopez as Karen, is smart, sassy, sexy and strong – a perfect match for Jack. Clooney and Lopez sizzle on screen – theirs is a romance with a difference, and we are invited along for the ride. Steve Zahn, the accomplice with attitude is a real scene stealer; Dennis Farina is a class act and Michael Keaton, in a small cameo, is an absolute hoot. It’s all the little asides, the little throwaways, the unexpected small things that make this a delightful encounter. The rhythms are up-tempo and the action is hot in this tale of a bank robber who makes a lifestyle out of his life of crime."
Louise Keller