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Great Adaption of Elmore Leonard's "The Switch"!

posted 9 years ago by MovieHoliks
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I just saw this adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel, "The Switch" off Amazon Prime the other day, and it's a winner! If you recall the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film, "Jackie Brown" (which was based on Leonard's novel, "Rum Punch"), this is sort of a prequel to that, using the same characters. John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (AKA "Mos Def") play the same two characters Robert DeNiro and Samuel L. Jackson played in that earlier Tarantino picture. This time, they take for ransom the wife (Jennifer Aniston) of a wealthy man (Tim Robbins), who they believe will cough up some big dough for her, but upon realizing what's going on, she doesn't believe the money will be coming through.

The heart of this film is the relationship between Hawkes and Aniston, who develop a sorta romantic thing while this whole ordeal is going on. I first remember Hawkes as the "Crab Shack" guy on an early '90s episode of "Wings", but wow, in recent years has he come into his own as a film actor- with the likes of movies such as "The Surrogate", "Me and You and Everyone We Know", etc.. Well, anyway, that's the reason to check out this movie, plus like with most Leonard-based films- so much going on at once- and a lot of fun in a darkly-comic-film-noir-type way. Thumbs up!

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[–] casey-75-119610 9 years ago

I really enjoyed it too. I have a question assuming you read both the switch and rum punch. Are Ordell and Louis written the same in each book? I ask because both are way more sympathetic in Life of Crime than they are in Jackie Brown. Or maybe just time made them more cold blooded?

[–] thomas-begen-194-976045 8 years ago

I think what you say about time making them cold-blooded is accurate. In "Jackie Brown": They are middle-aged. Louis just got out of jail. Ordell has seen some success as a criminal and has gotten more ruthless. In "The Switch" they are inexperienced criminals seeking what appears to be an easy score.

Remember, though, that Ordell was ready to go through with having Mickey killed in order to get money, and probably cut Louis out of the deal. In the novel, Louis and Mickey are sympathetic, especially Mickey since she's the only character who really grows. I feel that aspect is lost in the film.