Charley Varrick

Directed by Don Siegel, Charley Varrick follows Walter Matthau’s title character as he and his cohorts successfully rob a bank only to discover that they’ve stolen almost a million dollars worth of mafia money. Filmmaker Siegel, armed with Dean Riesner and Howard Rodman’s screenplay, does a terrific job of initially luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced narrative, as Charley Varrick kicks off with a compelling (and violent) bank-robbery sequence that’s heightened by Matthau’s typically engrossing, commanding performance – with the actor’s superb turn likewise elevating (and enhancing) the remainder of the proceedings. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that Siegel has elicited equally memorable work from periphery players like Joe Don Baker, Andrew Robinson, and John Vernon.) The movie, beyond that relatively electrifying opening, settles into a matter-of-fact midsection detailing Charley’s impressive efforts at staying one step ahead of his pursuers, and while there’s never a point at which one’s interest is wholeheartedly engaged, Charley Varrick, by the time the entertaining and thoroughly satisfying climax rolls around, generally does come off as an above-average piece of work that boasts its fair share of surprises.

*** out of ****