arts / 10

 

The pro and the con of ‘Focus’

» Will Smith returns to the big screen

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

Focus, a film about professional

protégé Jess (Margot Robbie),
who struggle to find love and
trust ina world of lies.

Written and directed by
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
(I Love You, Phillip Morris and
Crazy, Stupid, Love), the film
follows the two con artists from
when they first meet and start
training, to years later when
they meet again by chance in
Buenos Aires.

“We got really interested

: in exploring that concept in

: a movie about four years ago.
: We would call it The Con Artist :
: Love Story,” Requa said at a

: Q-and-A.
WwW Smith returns with his :
cool, confident attitude in :

Focus keeps audiences

guessing where it’s headed

: until near the end, which

: comes a bit too soon in this

: 105-minute film. The movie

: explores the art of the con and
: humanizes con artists Nicky

: and Jess.

“This is essentially a movie

: about two criminals—these
: fast and charming people who

youll love even though they’re

: doing crimes. It’s tricky stuff,
: but Will and Margot fit the
“It evolved into this notion :
: of having the first part ofthe —:
any 1 + movie being about a rookie
con artist Nicky (Smith) and his : con artist falling in love with a
: pro, and the second half about
: them coming back together

: when she’s not a rookie

: anymore,’ he said.

bill,” Requa said.
To make the steals look

: authentic, Ficarra and Requa

: recruited Apollo Robbins, an

: expert in pick-pocketing and

: sleight-of-hand, to teach the

: actors how to perform the cons
: and provide insight into the

: world of con artists.

“TRobbie] has a ballet

When casting the

ia.
Still of Will Smith and Margot Robbie in Focus

: character of Nicky, Ficarra and
: Requa were attracted to Smith’s :
: likability, which they felt

: would be a necessary trait fora
: con artist.

“Tt’s the idea that the

: Will Smith we all know is this
: charismatic, smiling, nice

: guy. That’s so easy for him

: to embody ina character,

: but what if it was all an act?”

: Ficarra said. “That really

: appealed to us, the idea of

: having that quality unfold in

: the first half of the movie as

: : just something he turned on

: background, so that helped her :
: alittle bit with the physicality :
: of some of it,” Robbins said ina :
: promo video for the film. “She
: picked it up so fast.”

whenever it was convenient.”
Focus was an opportunity
for Smith to have fun in his

role of Nicky and not worry
: about the commercial success
: of the production, which he

theotherpress.ca

(2015)

: wasn’t sure he could do after

the failure of After Earth.
“This film really marks

: a transition in my life and,

: emotionally, in my career,”

: Smith said at a Q-and-A,

: noting that he now cares

: more about the experience of
: working on films rather than
: how popular they are.

“It is a huge relief for me to

not care whether or not Focus
: is number one or number 10

: at the box office,” he said. “T

: no longer measure the quality
: of myself on whether or not

: somebody else thinks what I

: [made] is beautiful.”

For more information,

check out the official Focus
: website at FocusMovie.com

 

‘After the Ball’ modernizes Cinderella

» Portia Doubleday stars in this re-imagining of the classic fairy tale

Clara Chow
The Peak

fter the Ball is a beautiful

revision of the traditional
Cinderella story. With so many
different versions out there,
it is refreshing to see one that
not only modernizes but also
adapts the story in such a way
that it becomes more than a
simple retelling of a well-known
tale.

The film focusses ona

struggle that can be understood

by people of all ages: finding a
place in the world, and being
true to oneself. This adaptation
is set in the realm of fashion
and designers. Kate Kassel
(Portia Doubleday) aims to be
a top designer, but despite her

: trapped in the shadows with no :
: job available.

The company Kate wished

: to join denies her entrance

: because of her father’s

: reputation. Her father, Lee

: Kassel (Chris North), was said
: to have stolen and redesigned
: an idea from that same

: company and marketed it as

: his own, and Kate is viewed as
: a potential spy for her father’s
: company, Kassel.

Family is one of the
central themes of the film.

: Kate’s relationship with her
: father is tightly linked to

: her motivations and actions
: throughout the movie. She
: originally joins Kassel to

: establish her own design

: career, but her motivation
evident talent, she finds herself :

changes when she discovers the

company’s diminished ideals

: and her stepmother’s growing
: influence over the designs,

: her father, and ultimately the
: company.

Fashion has often been

: associated with superficial

: or exaggerated beauty, but

: this film shows that there

: isa quality of personality

: imbued within it. Fashion

: is about finding a balance

: in perception, but it’s alsoa
: matter of connecting with

: individuals. A design can be
: beautiful, exquisite even, but
: also revealing of the person
: underneath.

Kate’s stepmother (Lauren

: Holly) forgoes the creative

: side and strives for profit

: instead, creating a demanding,
: lifeless environment that seeps

: through the company into the
: retail stores.

For Kate, making money

: is secondary to making the

: customers feel worthy and

: beautiful with the clothes they
: wear. She truly cares about her
: father and seeks to repair her

: ties with him as a daughter and
: a designer, aiming to mend the
: fraying connection between

: the Kassel designs and their

: customers.

Throughout it all, love is

: rendered as a side plot. Kate’s

: stepmother and her stepsisters
: never interfere with her

: relationship with her prince

: charming as they do in the

: original tale. Upon meeting

: Daniel (Marc-André Grondin),
: a shoe designer, there is an

: immediate attraction. Their

: relationship develops gradually,
: making the result more

: believable than after only one

: night of dancing.

Kate’s godmother (Mimi

: Kuzyk) owns a vintage shoe

: store named After the Ball,

: and she and her friend Richard
: (Carlo Rota), are always there to
: give Kate advice.

The title is also a reflection

: of the sequence of events

: that happen after initially

: falling in love. After all the

: misunderstandings are cleared
: up, and beyond finding a happy
: ending or discovering true

: love, Kate is able to repair her

: relationship with her father

: and find love with Daniel.

: More importantly, though, she
: becomes a better version of

: herself.