One moment can upend a person’s life; two moments may destroy it.  Two such moments are evidenced in The Lookout, a 2007 drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  In the film, he portrays a man named Chris Pratt, who had been an expert hockey player. Four years in the past, he suffered a brain injury, not from hockey, but a car accident.  (The film definitely reaffirms the importance of driving with the headlights turned on.)  Chris currently works as a bank janitor, while continuing rehabilitation, when he is roped into participating in a heist of said bank. 

But how realistic is this portrayal of a brain injury?  For example, even though the level of injury to his brain is not stated, one can assume it was severe, given the fact that he still participates in rehabilitation.  He now lives essentially independently (with a roommate, but without intense monitoring).  More importantly, he is able to hold a job – he works as a bank janitor.  In reading reviews, such as on Yahoo, this job is classified as menial.  I find this description highly demeaning.  A host of other people, particularly those with neurological and/or physical impairments, could not effectively complete this job.  (Googling “janitor brain injury” resulted in many links.)  

However, in many ways, he still must recover.  He continues to attend “life coaching” classes and he regularly meets with coaches outside of class.  The viewer is also privy to some of Chris’s innermost thoughts.  Every morning he recites his daily routine in his head – shower with soap, eat, etc.  Based on this action, the watcher is meant to believe that his routine is not, and cannot, be developed into a long-term memory because of his injury.  However, Wikipedia defines rote memory as a, “memorization technique based on repetition.”  It seems to me that internally reciting his routine has become part of his routine, part of his rote memory.  (Fortunately, and unlike in 2007, phones now have notepad apps, so it is not necessary for people to carry physical notepads, as Chris does.)

Lastly, and most importantly, is Chris’s participation in the heist.  Like many with brain injury, months, and even years apart from leading an “adult” life causes social skills to diminish.  As noted by medical studies, this “childlike” cognition makes one more “gullible”.  An invitation to converse with another person at a bar would undeniably be met with enthusiasm.  The NIH also found that, “TBI often leads to cognitive and personality issues that might increase risk of crime.” It is conceivable that, for someone who has little social interaction, an invitation to a later social event would be met with excitement.  However, when this later “social event” turns out to be a bank heist, Chris also has major trepidations.

As many remarked upon online, in posts and articles, Chris seems to have a large number of deficits, beyond those mentioned above.  In fact, every part of his life seems to be affected and lessened by his disability, such as Chris’s romantic/sexual relations with women.  One should always remind themselves that films involving injury to the brain and otherwise tend to both embellish and ignore.  I believe the three issues presented above are the most pressing in this film.    

*Apparently, the actor Chris Pratt was set to audition for The Lookout, but the audition was cancelled due to the casting of Gordon Levitt.  However, Pratt has appeared in films involving brain injury.  The next film I analyze will be one of his war films, that involve this common combat trauma.