As an actor, director, founder of theSundance Film Festival, and noted political activist,Robert Redfordhas built himself one of the most iconic legacies in modern Hollywood history. With starring roles spanning across six decades, and anOscar for Best Directorfor his film,Ordinary People, Redford has an outstanding track record. This made it all the more upsetting when he announced his retirement from acting in the late 2010s. While doing press for what is still his last starring role, Redford hinted that he would be stepping away from film. For the most part, this has remained true. With only a handful of documentaries, and a brief cameo inAvengers: Endgame, Redford’s final starring role landed in 2019.
The Old Man & the Gunstars Redford as an aging bank robber who just can’t convince himself to hang up his trade, andSissy Spacekas a woman who shakes up his life after years of crime. The film is a quiet, charming story about aging, making it an incredibly fitting one to serve as the final star vehicle for one of Hollywood’s most legendary figures. Directed byDavid Lowery, the movie is a thoughtful celebration of Redford’s own career, and one that serves as a perfect sendoff for the Sundance Kid.
The Old Man and the Gun
‘The Old Man & the Gun’ Is a (Mostly) True Story
The Old Man & the Gunis adapted from a2003 article fromThe New Yorkerwritten byDavid Grann(who also wroteKillers of the Flower Moon). The story covers Forrest Tucker, a real-life career criminal who spent his life in and out of prison. As depicted in the film,Tucker made many successful prison escapes, including one that is seen in Lowery’s film where he constructed a raft to sail away from San Quentin. According to Grann,Tucker stole an estimated $4 millionfrom various banks over his lifetime.
Grann’s profile takes its name from the fact that Tucker, at the age of 79 and while living in a retirement community, robbed four banks within a short span of time. Tucker’s crimes continuing into such an old age made for quite a curious human interest story, and a great movie.Redford plays the aging bank robberwith a great deal of charm, and underlines that Tucker was a stylish, charming, kind person. Grann states in the profile that the police captain who apprehended Tucker stated he’d “never met such a gracious criminal.”
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With a criminal lifestyle dating back to his teen years, and his first prison break at the age of 15, it was simply in Tucker’s nature to be the way he was. He didn’t want to do anything else, and he didn’t like getting caught, but he always kept his eye on another way out. The chase gave him something to look forward to.The film captures his unusual, infectious spirit perfectly. While Redford’s Forrest survives his final stint in prison and goes back to his old tricks, the real Forrest Tucker passed away in the middle of his 13-year sentence, one year after Grann’s profile.
Robert Redford’s ‘The Old Man & the Gun’ Captures the Actor’s Charm
Redford’s legendary career includes a lot of capers. He and Paul Newman ran cons and went on the run in bothButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidandThe Sting. Redford took on a more tech-oriented approach inSneakers, where he hacks his way into a Robin Hood-esque status, and he also showed a different side of his star-persona inThe Hot Rock, a heist comedy. The point being: Robert Redford’s characters like to steal things. This is whyThe Old Man & the Gunis a perfect bow to tie up all of Redford’s major roles, as it’s an old-fashioned, warm-hearted story full of bank robberies.
CallingThe Old Man & the Guna crime movie would probably do a disservice to both the film and the viewers who expect something a little more gritty. It is a comfort watch, and most of all, a character study.Forrest Tucker is not a violent criminal, but rather just a man who lives for the thrill of the chase, and doesn’t know when to hang up his hat. His storied career as a bank robber, and the legend that the movie builds up about his escapades,feels reflective of Redford’s own iconic status. It makes the ending all the more fitting when Redford and Forrest both said they would quit, but neither committed to that completely. As Forrest is said to have robbed four banks in one day right after the film ends, Redford has continued lending his voice to various projects over the last few years, so while he has not appeared in a starring role, he has not completely disappeared from the world of film.
Lowery’s film grants Redford the opportunity to show off everything that made moviegoers fall for himthroughout the decades. He’s romantic, funny, clever, tough, and endlessly charming. His chemistry with Spacek, who he meets at the beginning of the film and develops a lovely relationship with, is at the heart of the film. They really shine together on screen, and he also plays wonderfully off ofDanny GloverandTom Waitsas the other two guys in the “Over the Hill Gang.” Redford’s magnetic charisma has not dimmed at all with age.Lowery’s film is a celebration of Redford’s work, but it is also a living document of a man who still has that movie star status after all these years. In an age where genuine movie stars feel less and less common, it is a real treat that we got one last lesson from the best of them.The Old Man & the Gunis a farewell to a defining cornerstone of modern Hollywood, and a movie that slips on like a warm blanket.
The Old Man & the Gunis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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