Looking for an engrossing character study crossed with a heist film? Well, have I got a movie for you. Earlier this year, screenwriter Scott Frank made his directorial debut in stunning fashion with The Lookout. The advertising said it was about a bank robbery, but with a twist. One of the characters is manipulated into assisting until the tables get turned. Sounds rather simplistic, but there is much more to it than that. The heist is actually just a small part of the story - a very important part - but it is much more about the main character, played by the ever impressive Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The film opens with a turning point in young Chris Pratt's (Levitt) life. It is a scene of beauty crossed with tragedy that will forever scar the young man. Pratt was a high school hockey star, one of the cool, popular kids who had everything going for him: pretty girlfriend, rich family, the sky was the limit. While out with his friends, heading to a party, there is a horrific car accident that leaves two of his friends dead, his girlfriend seriously injured, and himself brain-damaged.

The story picks up a year removed from the accident. Chris is attempting to put his life in order, struggling with the effects of the brain damage. He has issues with sequencing events, remembering what he needs to do, in addition to impulse and anger control issues, all of which conspire to keep him from living a normal life. To help him cope with these problems he takes classes on how to structure life and is rooming with a well-adjusted blind man, Lewis (Jeff Daniels), who serves as his mentor.

Chris works as a night janitor at a small bank, where he aspires to gain enough control to become a bank teller, but is summarily denied by the manager due to his sequencing issues. One night after work he runs into an old acquaintance from his high school days, Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), who accepts Chris for who he is now and introduces him to an ex-stripper named Luvlee Lemons (Hot Rod's Isla Fisher), who is more than eager for a hook-up with the former hockey star. Before Chris knows it, he is being manipulated by his new "friend" to assist in a burglary of the bank that he works at.

Of course, the heist does not go as planned, as Chris is able to gain the upper hand. While this heist is an interesting thread, it is merely that, a thread. However it is a big key to the character study that is Chris. Here is someone who lives with daily reminders of the tragedy in his past, living with the guilt of his responsibility for happened, not to mention the fact that he has to rely on notes and routine just to get through the day. It is fascinating watching Chris struggle with all of this, and draw a newfound strength from the heist that seems to move him in the right direction, toward forgiving himself and taking steps toward redemption.

Is The Lookout perfect? No, but it is wonderfully effective, and tightly focused. It probably could have used another 15 minutes to flesh out the supporting cast a bit more, but that is really a minor nit. It is a movie that will have you riveted to your seat, waiting to see what comes next. The character of Chris Pratt is an interesting one. At times he is a jerk, at others a sap, but always sympathetic. He is a character that you want to see succeed. Pratt has layers, a complete and rounded character. He is the reason for the movie — the heist and all else are completely secondary to the development of Pratt.