Verdict: A cool con movie with a great final kick.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Matchstick Men” finds director Ridley Scott in a David Mamet kind of mood. The movie, solidly shot and smartly acted, is one of those con-man movies where you're never sure who's conning who — including the audience.

Nicolas Cage stars as Roy, a tic-ridden obsessive-compulsive con artist whose protégé/partner, Frank (the fine Sam Rockwell from “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”), keeps urging him to go for the “long con,” i.e., a job more complicated and with a bigger payoff than what Roy usually tackles. Since Roy is the kind of guy who opens a door three times before actually opening it and thinks two loose threads on the carpet call for a major housecleaning, complications aren't what he needs.

But when he discovers Angela (Alison Lohman), the 14-year-old daughter he never knew he had, Roy begins thinking more about her future than his present. What he doesn't count on is that Angela is not only eager to meet him, but she also wants to learn the family business, so to speak. Roy is initially reluctant, but she shows a certain aptitude. When Angela pulls off a small con he's set up for her, she beams, “Mom was wrong. I got more than your elbows!”

And Roy, like any doting daddy, positively melts.

Like father, like daughter? Maybe. But this movie has a few more twists than that.

“Matchstick Men” can be seen as a sort of cross between “Paper Moon” and “House of Games.” It can be poignant, but it can be steely-eyed, too. And while it gets a little soft about two-thirds of the way through, be patient. All will be revealed by the end.

The picture gives Cage full rein to play around as much as he wants. Some of the scenes establishing Roy's eccentricities go on too long, but Cage continues to prove that he's one of the most inventive actors working today. Waiting in his car to meet Angela for the first time — her arrival is cleverly announced by the ominous click-clack of her skateboard — you 're not sure if Roy's more terrified of seeing her or of simply being outside.

Lohman matches him scene for scene. This smashing young actor is actually 23, but she's tremendously convincing as an adolescent. Brash, sometimes even bratty, she effortlessly conveys the childish tantrum-throwing energy and childlike need for a daddy that characterize girls of that age. If she looks familiar, you saw her last year as Michelle Pfeiffer's troubled teenage daughter in “White Oleander,” but she's a completely different kind of teen here. And the more you know about her character, the more amazed you are.

Having directed every kind of movie imaginable (“Alien,” “Thelma & Louise,” “Gladiator,” “Black Hawk Down”), Scott is working in a more relaxed mode. He tosses in some tricky stuff — quick cuts, fast-forward, etc. But for the most part, he enjoys watching his cast enjoy themselves.

“Matchstick Men ” — it's another word for con artist, if you're wondering — is what you get when a bunch of talented pros get together to make a movie without worrying about Oscar nominations, career moves and 10-Best lists. They're just having fun, and chances are, you will, too.

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