MOVIE REVIEW: Going in Style

Morgan Freeman is definitely not the voice of God in the enchanting comedy, Going in Style.

Oscar winners Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin form a charming team and play the roles of three elderly gentlemen Willie, Joe and Al.

They are good friends who decide to risk a quiet retired life and bingo nights with no heart palpitations for an illegal plan, after all their savings are lost due to their bank misplacing funds.

Desperate that they cannot pay their bills and cannot support their families, the three take extreme, even fatal measures for a person of their age: they plan on robbing the bank itself to resolve their lack of funds.

In this comedy we are dealing with a common situation – the banks and their technical tricks with mortgages, pensions and other issues (when they reserve the right to repossess your home if you cannot pay the monthly fees). The situation applies to pensioners who, after 30-40 years of hard work, are suddenly left without their promised pensions, and possibly on the verge of financial collapse.

The movie starts with Joe (played by Michael Caine), who accidentally witnesses a robbery. Being at the bank for a non-payment with a yellow envelope, he is attended by a rather rude “officer” who cheerfully says that’s not serious and he only needs to worry if he receives a red envelope. He has a little dialogue with the leader of the robbers, which is surprisingly empathetic.

After this robbery, the bank declares that they cannot pay any pensions because of the $1.6 million that the robbers got away with.

Inevitably Joe receives the famous red envelope and it basically announces him that he will lose his house that he shares with this daughter and granddaughter. Faced with the threat of homelessness, he decides that his best solution is to convince his lifetime friends Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Al (Alan Arkin) to rob a bank – the same that took away his home.

Of course, the action is animated by funny replicas, delivered with the charm and charisma of these veteran actors. In order to put the plan in action, they will soon find out that they need the help of a robbery specialist.

And from here, you can imagine – or not – the sequence of events.

This is a movie filled with a lot of warmth and joy – because it really deserves to be seen. It is not a movie with predictable plot twists and this can be a real breath of fresh air in today’s movie scene.