Identity Thief
2013 · Directed by Seth Gordon
Original language: English
- comedy
- crime
The story
When a mild-mannered businessman learns his identity has been stolen, he hits the road in an attempt to foil the thief -- a trip that puts him in the path of a deceptively harmless-looking woman.
What it’s like
Bright, flat studio lighting and wide, evenly lit suburban interiors give this road comedy the look of a mid-budget studio release: hotel rooms, diners and office corridors shot in clean, unshowy coverage with plenty of medium two-shots and quick cuts. The palette is warm and ordinary, all beige carpets, sunlit highways and fluorescent offices, and the texture is glossy digital with no grain to speak of. Sound is pure pop-comedy: upbeat, lightly jaunty incidental score, sitcom-style punchline stings, and plenty of loud, overlapping dialogue. The vibe is breezy and scrappy, a buddy-road-trip comedy that is loud and affectionate rather than dark. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, background laughing while folding laundry, or a easy comfort watch with friends. Pacing is brisk, with the tone tipping between slapstick and sharp, mildly crude banter. Its central arc is an uptight, put-upon man grudgingly loosening up beside a chaotic, big-hearted companion. Violence is comic and mostly off-screen or cartoonish, with some brief scuffles and peril; there is strong, frequent profanity, crude humour and some sexual innuendo, but no gore. It is for people who want big-hearted, rowdy laughs with an odd-couple pairing.
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