Cynicism alternating with sentimentality is an old Hollywood one-two punch, and few directors throw the combination as deftly as Scott. The self-justifying credo of the con artist is that unlike an ordinary thief, he takes only what people give him voluntarily, and that he preys on moral weaknesses like dishonesty and greed.
Scott, for his part, adroitly manipulates both our fascination with amorality and our desire to believe in human decency, and he gulls us into thinking we can have it both ways. This makes Matchstick Men both entertaining and empty: an emotional shell game that leaves you feeling cheated even though, on the surface at least, everyone is a winner.
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