Given the previews and the title of Matchstick Men, I was expecting a con movie a la Ocean’s Eleven. We certainly get enough conning for those who enjoy watching people get scammed, but Matchstick Men is more about the emotional and psychological progression of Roy (Nicholas Cage).

As a professional con-artist, Roy is fairly successful conning people with his partner Frank (Sam Rockwell). The only thing keeping him from being even more successful than he is, however, is some sort of neurosis that has led to a phobia of dirt and some erratic behavior. After getting a new psychiatrist, he is made aware that he has a 14-year old daughter named Angela (Alison Lohman) from a previous marriage.

From this point the film focuses less on the conning and more on the relationship between Roy and his newfound daughter and his struggles to deal with his neurosis. Though Matchstick Men never really presents a complete answer to his problem, I was fascinated by the stated and implied comment that it was primarily the guilt over his lifestyle that has created his psychological anxiety.

Though the conning never lets up throughout the film, the final product involves Roy’s maturation – this is an adult coming of age film. To the degree that it fulfills that role it’s actually rather stirring, particularly because Nicholas Cage is so freaking awesome. And Rockwell and Lohman manage to keep pace with him.

Matchstick Men doesn’t dive nearly as deeply as it could, however, while we get plenty of time to enjoy the cons and the cons within the cons. The film manages to keep the promise of its title, while telling a genuine story at the same time.

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