Needing a new partner capable of intricate cons, Richard Gaddis, recruits Rodrigo, a crook with a perfect poker face. The two plan a big-time scam: selling a fake Silver Certificate to currency collector William Hannigan. Rodrigo distrusts his new associate, but needs money to help out his ill father. The situation becomes more complicated when Rodrigo falls for Gaddis' sister, Valerie, drawing another player into the game.
Reilly and Luna make a chemically appealing screen team.
– Desson Thomson,
Washington Post,
10 Sep 2004
fresh:
Jacobs has brought the barrio into noir, and that's no small achievement. If nothing else, it opens the door to a whole new galaxy of grift.
– Peter Rainer,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
12 Sep 2004
fresh:
... unfolds like a David Mamet film ...
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
13 Sep 2004
fresh:
A kind of who-done-what? puzzle. You'll probably enjoy it much more if you haven't seen the 2002 Argentine film, Nine Queens.
– Liam Lacey,
Globe and Mail,
24 Sep 2004
fresh:
With dashes of black humour and pointed glimpses of the American class system, Criminal is a taut con-versus-con game whose deft artistry isn't fully revealed until the last few minutes.