Swindled: Grade C

C

Victoria Abril, Ernesto Alleria, Federico Luppi; Director Miguel Bardem.
Spanish (subtitled), Aka "Incautos"

A group of crooks sets up a real estate con with confederate “investors” so the real investor feels OK putting in his cash. The movie follows The Sting, Mission Impossible, Silver Bears, Heist, and other movies of this type, with the idea of hugely elaborate setups. But in the last half, there are so many twists and turns that the movie becomes about twists and turns rather than any story, and I lost interest. Not one false briefcase full of newspaper instead of money, but five. Not one false shootout, but multiple. Is that a real priest or a confederate? Why did the husband come back to life after having been poisoned, but then played no further role in the story? Why didn’t anyone open Gitano’s briefcase to see what was in it? Etc., etc. High dollar production values, good acting, but in the end, an unsatisfying story. It would have been better as a parody of con movies, but it takes itself seriously throughout.