Swindled (Incautos)

REVIEW
Director Miguel Bardem (Javier Bardem's brother) delivers a stylish, Grifters-style crime thriller that would not only make David Mamet proud – it would have him second-guessing the plot twists right down to the final frame. The slick, handsome Ernesto (Ernesto Alterio) has spent a lifetime in the small-racket crime world, working the three-card monte on suckers on the streets of Madrid, conning store owners and scouting the train stations for easy marks to rob. His pleasant, but decidedly small-time, lifestyle changes when he meets the elderly El Manco (Manuel Alexandre), a veteran of the trade who has close contacts to the mysterious and masterful Federico (Federico Luppi), the king of all con men. The three hook up and, after ascending to the rarified world of elegant hotels and high living, Federico proposes a real estate con that will net them millions. The only hitch is that they need the assistance of Federico’s ex-lover Pilar (Victoria Abril). A former con artist herself, Pilar (who cheated Federico on a scam years earlier) is now living in luxury with her new elderly husband. The chase is on, as the team embarks on their new complicated con . . . but can everyone be trusted? Is there honor among thieves?

Swindled is an elegant, fun, fast-moving film where the secrets, subplots, treachery and twists will keep you on the edge of your seat. Abril is a riveting revelation as Pilar – a complicated woman who is alternately sexy, helpless, insecure . . . but always calculating. (Spanish with English subtitles)