Traveller (Reviewed on Nov. 7/98)
Starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, Julianna Margulies
There's something about watching con men at work that never fails to fascinate me. Likely, it's because I know that I would never be able to pull off a con, no matter how small. I just don't have what it takes to look a man straight in the eyes and lie to him. Many of the characters in "Traveller" have the ability to do that, and much more.
The movie stars Bill Paxton as a con man at the top of his game, and Mark Wahlberg as his young protoge. They are teamed up when Paxton sticks up for Wahlberg in front of his people, who refuse to accept him. His "people" are gypsies, who rely on con men like Paxton to keep the money flowing in. The movie starts off predictably with Paxton showing Wahlberg the ropes, but then veers off into totally unexpected territory.
"Traveller" is an odd movie in that you never quite know what it's going to do next. For a while, you think it's a movie along the lines of "The Sting", with the older man showing the naive kid the ropes. But then it becomes something different, and I think that's what I liked most about the film. Too many films today have predictable outcomes, and a five year old can usually guess at how the movie's going to end. "Traveller" never quite settles into a niche, and I was happy to be watching a film that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
The performances are first rate, with Paxton redeeming himself for "Twister". At the outset of the film, we're not too sure if we like him. He's taking advantage of innocent people and generally acting like a bad-ass. But as the movie progresses, and as he falls in love with the Julianna Margules character, we start to see a different side to him emerge. And to me, this is the sign of a good actor. Someone who can make you think one thing, but later on, force you to re-evaluate what you originally thought. Wahlberg is good, too, as a natural-born grifter.
"Traveller" is the type of movie that, after you watch it, you will likely be suspecting everyone around you of ripping you off for the next week. Hey, it beats thinking an asteroid is going to destroy the earth.
*** out of ****
-- David Nusair dnusair@chat.carleton.ca Come visit my "Reel Film Reviews" site! "http://chat.carleton.ca/~dnusair"
"The most annoying questions are the hypothetical, like, `what would have happened if you had quit after Siamese Dream?' Well, what would have happened? Probably, we all would have been playing samba somewhere." -Billy Corgan
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