'Lookout' hangs on 2 characters' relationship

THE LOOKOUT — *** — Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode; rated R (violence, profanity, vulgarity, brief sex, brief partial nudity, brief gore, brief drugs).

Somewhere between the television show "3rd Rock From the Sun" and "The Lookout," Joseph Gordon-Levitt turned into a pretty good young actor.

His performance in the long-running television series "3rd Rock" didn't give any indication of how convincing Gordon-Levitt could be in edgy films like "Brick," "Mysterious Skin" and this gimmicky thriller, which is occasionally too smart for its own good but still has a few heady thrills.

He stars as Chris Pratt, a once-promising high school athlete who was responsible for a horrible auto accident that killed two of his friends and maimed another. That same accident also left Chris with considerable memory loss.

He's now working as night watchman and janitor at a farm bank and living with Lewis (Jeff Daniels), a blind, would-be restaurateur. But there are a few people who would use Chris' faulty memory against him. Chief among them is Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), who wants to gain Chris' trust to help rob the bank where Chris works.

Sensing that there might be some reluctance on Chris' part, Gary uses the appropriately named Luvlee (Isla Fisher, from "The Wedding Crashers") to entice him.

Despite a couple of unexpected twists, this material is a little more predictable than intended by veteran screenwriter Scott Frank ("The Interpreter," "Minority Report"), who is making his directing debut.

But he correctly emphasizes the relationships between characters, and the film really hinges on the friendship between Chris and Lewis, which adds a needed emotional component. It's the convincing onscreen relationship between Gordon-Levitt and Daniels that makes the film work.

The entire cast is solid, however. British actor Goode, who's known more for his roles in romantic comedies ("Chasing Liberty"), is appropriately menacing. But Gordon-Levitt is the most impressive.

"The Lookout" is rated R for strong scenes of violence (shootings and vehicular mayhem), strong sexual language (profanity and crude slang terms), two brief sex scenes (one overheard), brief partial male and female nudity, brief gore, and brief drug content (use of prescription drugs). Running time: 98 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com