It has become something of a subgenre in recent years, especially as some of our finest actors and action stars have reached their 60s and up. Going in Style got there first, but this comic tale of pensioners scheming to pull off a bank robbery strives for something a bit deeper than the spectacle of once-virile performers being put through their paces.
Actually, nothing about the stars of this movie puts them in the same league as the Eastwoods, Willises, and Lancasters of the later movies. George Burns was a cigar-chomping, wise-cracking comedian whose previous film before his Oscar-winning turn in Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1975) was in 1939; Art Carney went from being a famous TV second banana to establishing a more varied dramatic film career late in life, winning an Oscar for his effort (Harry and Tonto, 1974); and legendary acting coach and Method founder Lee Strasberg appeared in only two movies before the age of 70.
There's plenty of humor in the story but also a good deal that's serious and poignant. Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel praised Going in Style as a "small, quality film" with "a surprising mixture of comedy and pain." Siskel said the picture "treats old age with a lot of bitterness," adding: "What this remarkable movie is after is duplicating the texture of being old in America. And, as we spend the final days with these three characters, we discover that what growing old is about for so many people is being alone. In one heart-tugging scene after another, we see the maturity it takes to make peace with yourself as you grow old. We see the strength it takes to be willing to sit quietly."
Siskel had particular praise for the usually cheerful and comic George Burns, who "lets out some of his rage...in a controlled, quiet way that reveals he is one remarkable actor." At one point in the movie, Burns looks through some old photos and mementoes. Coming across a picture of a young couple, meant to be the character and his late wife, Burns eyes well with tears. The photo is actually one of Burns and his longtime wife and comedy partner Gracie Allen, who died in 1964.
All three actors won the Pasinetti Award for Best Actor at the 1980 Venice Film Festival. The film was also nominated with its director Martin Brest, who wrote the screenplay from a story by Edward Cannon. This was Brest's second film but his first studio release, and it proved to be a good boost for the then 28-year-old filmmaker.
Over the next few years, despite setbacks and artistic disagreements that saw Brest leaving a handful of major studio projects, his career seemed headed for big things. His next picture, Beverly Hills Cop (1984), was a runaway hit and a star maker for Eddie Murphy. The comic crime picture Midnight Run (1988), starring the unlikely but winning team of Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, was also critically and commercially well received. Four years later he had another hit, directing Al Pacino to his only Academy Award in Scent of a Woman (1992), based on an Italian novel and film of 1974. Brest followed that with Meet Joe Black (1998), also inspired by an old Hollywood picture, Death Takes a Holiday (1934), but mixed reviews and disappointing box office severely slowed his trajectory. He then turned his attention to an original project he wrote and directed. Gigli (2003) is now legendary as a huge commercial bomb and considered to be one of the worst movies ever made.
Whether that assessment is entirely fair or not, it seems to have knocked Brest out of the charmed position he once held. Although he was never a prolific director, 13 years and counting between projects is a long dry spell. His total disappearance from film has left many wondering about his whereabouts and the possibilities for any kind of comeback. Now 63, perhaps Brest is feeling the cruel sting of being put out to pasture himself. Or he's just happy to be far from the rat race.
Going in Style, however, still has life left in it. A remake is slated to be released in 2017 starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin as the larcenous seniors, with a cast that includes Ann-Margret, Matt Dillon, and Christopher Lloyd.
Director: Martin Brest
Producer: Leonard Gaines, Tony Bill, Fred T. Gallo
Screenplay: Martin Brest, story by Edward Cannon
Cinematography: Billy Williams
Editing: C. Timothy O'Meara, Robert Swink
Art Direction: Fred Price, Gary Weist
Music: Michael Small
Cast: George Burns (Joe), Art Carney (Al), Lee Strasberg (Willie), Charles Hallahan (Pete), Pamela Payton-Wright (Kathy)
By Rob Nixon
