Matchstick Men 2003

Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage), a cunning Los Angeles con artist, navigates the city alongside his trusted partner and protégé Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell). Their lucrative scheme involves peddling overpriced water filtration systems to unsuspecting customers, raking in an impressive haul of over one million dollars. However, beneath the surface of Roy’s polished facade lies a complex web of mental health issues: agoraphobia, mysophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a tic disorder, not to mention his tendency to erupt into frantic declarations of “Pygmies!” whenever surprise or upset strikes.

Following a violent panic attack, Frank pushes Roy to seek professional help from Dr. Harris Klein (Bruce Altman), who prescribes medication and guides Roy through the process of confronting his troubled past. The psychiatrist’s revelations spark a chain reaction within Roy, as he grapples with the knowledge that he has a 14-year-old daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman), born to his ex-wife Heather (Melora Walters) during their tumultuous marriage.

As Roy and Angela begin to reconnect, she brings an infectious youthful energy to his stagnant life. With her encouragement, Roy agrees to join forces with Frank on a long-term con, targeting the arrogant Chuck Frechette (Bruce McGill) with the Jamaican Switch. However, just as things are falling into place, Angela’s unexpected arrival at Roy’s doorstep sets off a chain reaction of events.

Seeking solace after a fight with her mother, Angela crashes at Roy’s house for the weekend, leaving him feeling discomfited and introspective. As she explores his belongings and challenges his perceptions, Roy begins to reevaluate his life, sharing his inner turmoil with Dr. Klein during therapy sessions.

As tensions rise between Roy and Angela, the latter returns home late one night, sparking a heated argument that ultimately prompts Roy to reveal his true profession as a con artist. Reluctantly agreeing to mentor her in the art of deception, they concoct a plan to dupe an unsuspecting older woman at a local laundromat, only for Roy to later coerce Angela into returning the stolen money. As the stakes grow higher, Roy’s complex web of emotions and motivations threatens to unravel his carefully constructed world.

As Roy deliberates the ethical implications of teaching his supposed daughter such cunning tactics, a glimmer of hope dawns on him - a sign that his rejuvenation is not just physical, but also emotional. He decides to put aside his reservations and spends quality time with her, bonding over a game of bowling. However, their evening is abruptly disrupted by Frank’s revelation that Chuck’s flight to the Cayman Islands has been rescheduled for the same day as initially planned. With time running out, Roy reluctantly agrees to let Angela serve as a diversion midway through the con, unaware of the unforeseen consequences that will soon unfold. As the scheme concludes, Chuck catches on and chases them into the parking lot before they manage to escape. It is then that Roy discovers Angela’s troubled past, including her arrest a year prior, which prompts him to insist she cease contacting him.

Without Angela by his side, Roy’s deep-seated phobias begin to resurface, culminating in another debilitating panic attack. During this episode, he inadvertently learns the truth about the medication prescribed by Klein - it is nothing more than a placebo, a profound realization that underscores the fact that he doesn’t require pills to find happiness. As Roy grapples with this newfound understanding, he realizes that his life must change and that Angela holds the key to unlocking his true potential. Frank, however, is devastated by Roy’s decision.

One fateful evening, Roy and Angela return home to find Chuck waiting for them, accompanied by a battered Frank. In a flash of quick thinking, Angela shoots Chuck down, prompting Roy to dispatch her and Frank into hiding until the situation can be resolved. As he prepares to deal with Chuck’s lifeless body, Chuck suddenly springs back to life and delivers a crushing blow that leaves Roy unconscious.

Roy awakens in a hospital setting, only to learn from the authorities that Chuck eventually succumbed to his gunshot wound, while Frank and Angela have gone into hiding. Klein appears on the scene, prompting Roy to entrust him with the password to his bank account, instructing him to disburse the funds to Angela once she is found.

As Roy begins to grasp the magnitude of his predicament, he finds himself facing a series of unsettling realizations: the “police” have vanished, his hospital room has transformed into a freight container on the rooftop of a parking garage, and Dr. Klein’s office lies abandoned. In a stunning turn of events, Roy discovers that Frank orchestrated a massive con against him, leaving him with nothing but a handful of secrets.

Seeking answers and closure, Roy drives to Heather’s residence (a woman he hasn’t seen in years) in the hopes of finding Angela. During their conversation, Roy is dealt a crushing blow as Heather reveals the truth: she had miscarried their child. There is no “Angela” - the young girl he thought was his own flesh and blood is actually Frank’s accomplice, a revelation that leaves him reeling.

As the calendar flips forward a full year, Roy has undergone a profound transformation - one that sees him exchanging the cutthroat world of art forgery for the humble hum of a local carpet store. It’s here, amidst the soft whispers of showroom sales and the gentle hum of industrious commerce, that Angela and her beau unwittingly stumble into Roy’s new reality. The chance encounter sparks an emotional reckoning as Roy confronts his former flame, only to ultimately extend the olive branch of forgiveness - a gesture born from the hard-won wisdom that honesty is indeed its own reward.

Angela, meanwhile, reveals a surprise twist: despite her reputation as a cunning operator, this particular art heist was a one-time fluke, a single misstep in an otherwise spotless criminal resume. With this confession, she and her partner bid Roy adieu, leaving him to return home to Kathy, his loving wife-to-be who is now proudly sporting the first signs of their future together - a tiny yet mighty testament to the power of redemption and the promise of new life.