Focus (2015)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing John Requa, Glenn Ficarra's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- John Requa, Glenn Ficarra originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Before Will Smith was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
Focus is a 2015 American crime comedy-drama directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Will Smith stars as Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con artist and pickpocket who takes on a young, attractive grifter named Jess Barrett, played by Margot Robbie, as his protΓ©gΓ©. After an intense romantic entanglement during a Super Bowl-weekend con in New Orleans, Nicky abruptly ends both the professional and personal relationship, only to encounter Jess three years later in Buenos Aires where she is involved with a motorsport team owner that Nicky has been hired to swindle.
The pleasure of Focus lay in its confidence game structure β the audience, like Jess, could never be certain what was genuine emotion and what was manipulation, and the film kept the balance engaging throughout. Will Smith and Margot Robbie's chemistry was electric, filmed during the period when Robbie was transitioning from unknown Australian actress to global star. The Super Bowl pickpocketing montage and the high-stakes gambling sequence with BD Wong were the film's standout set pieces.
Focus earned $159 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.
