David Lowery has proven to be an intriguing filmmaker. His remake of Pete’s Dragon was way more emotional than expected; A Ghost Story was polarizing but nearly made my top 10 list last year. Now the writer-director is sending Robert Redford off into the sunset with a near perfect final role. 

Seventy-year-old Forrest Tucker (Redford, whom the camera still loves at 82) is a lifelong criminal who has escaped from prison as often as he has been incarcerated. This leopard may not change his spots after meeting widowed farmer Jewel (Sissy Spacek), but maybe he will think about it. Meanwhile, determined detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) is closing in on the charismatic bank robber. 

Forrest is like an aged version of one of the young rascals Redford excelled at throughout the ’70s. Lowery has a bit of Hal Ashby’s idiosyncrasy, which can turn even a slight entertaining diversion like The Old Man & the Gun into a much more memorable film.