These days, merely having Margot Robbie attached to a project is enough to get a movie immediately greenlit, with major studio backing and a wide release. Less than a decade ago, though, long before "Barbie," Robbie was unproven as a movie star, and in her first mainstream leading role, she wasn’t even billed above the title in the opening credits.
In 2015, the slick con-artist thriller “Focus” was marketed as a vehicle for Will Smith, and while he gives one of his best performances as a suave grifter with a sensitive side, the movie now seems more notable as a showcase for the charisma and talent that would soon make Robbie one of the biggest stars in the world.
“Focus” received mixed reviews from critics and was a minor box-office hit, and now that it’s streaming on Netflix, it’s perfectly positioned to be rediscovered by viewers who weren’t initially paying attention to Robbie’s work.
‘Focus’ is a stylish, satisfying con game
Like most con-artist movies, “Focus” climaxes with a series of twists, but writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa aren’t just stringing the audience along until the big reveal.
They’re more interested in the mix of manipulation and vulnerability between veteran thief Nicky Spurgeon (Smith) and newcomer Jess Barrett (Robbie), who becomes both his protégé and his lover. Their meet-cute involves several layers of deception, as Jess looks to Nicky for refuge after being harassed by a drunk man in an upscale restaurant.
Jess’ inept effort to rope Nicky into a scheme involving a fake jealous ex fails almost immediately, but he still finds something about her intriguing. He shows her some basic pickpocketing techniques and gives her just enough information so she can track him down in New Orleans where he’s working with a large crew during the Super Bowl. The line between feigned seduction and genuine desire continues to blur, and the movie strikes a delicate balance between romance and trickery.
That balance continues through the New Orleans job and into the second half of the movie, set three years later in Buenos Aires, where both Nicky and Jess are working separate angles with Rafael Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro), the wealthy owner of a motorsports team. There are multiple levels to the cons in each half of the movie, and Ficarra and Requa pull off surprising and clever reveals without cheating the audience.
Smith and Robbie’s chemistry carries the movie
Those cons are fun to watch, but they wouldn’t be half as entertaining without the electric chemistry between Smith and Robbie as two people who’ve spent their whole lives being wary of emotional honesty. As in thrillers like “Out of Sight” or “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in simply watching two gorgeous, charming people spar both verbally and physically, and Smith and Robbie are equally mesmerizing whether they’re trading sarcastic barbs or taking their clothes off in high-end hotel rooms.
Through it all, it’s easy to see why Robbie was about to experience such a meteoric rise in Hollywood. She effortlessly captures Jess’ conflicting feelings — her earnest eagerness to learn the tricks of the trade as well as her calculating allure, all part of how she draws in her marks.
When Jess descends the staircase at a party in Buenos Aires in a striking red dress that contrasts with the dark-colored attire of everyone around her, it’s easy to see why Nicky becomes completely gobsmacked, thrown entirely off his game during a planned operation.
At the time, Smith’s charms were more familiar, but he’s surprising, too, taking an increasingly rare opportunity to play an unabashedly romantic role. The movie conveys the way that Jess and Nicky fall in love despite themselves, and by the end, when they’re making eyes at each other and bickering about their various overlapping lies while being held at gunpoint, it’s clear that no two people could be more ideally suited to be together.
‘Focus’ is a forgotten gem
It’s become common for mid-level thrillers from the last decade or so to show up on Netflix and suddenly vault into the streaming service’s Top 10 like they’re new releases, and “Focus” fits right into that pattern. Despite its twists and turns, it’s always easy to watch, with a fast pace, colorful sets and costumes, and a strong supporting cast that includes B.D. Wong, Adrian Martinez and Gerald McRaney. The dialogue is sharp and funny, and the central romance has the wit and warmth of a classic Hollywood production.
“Focus” is exactly what people should want out of an old-school studio movie, and Netflix viewers are lucky to have a second chance to experience it.
Watch "Focus" now on Netflix.
