A father lives a double life as a counterfeiter, bank robber, and con man in order to provide for his daughter.
Penn (as in Sean) is due recognition as an artist for his portrayal in this film of John Vogel, a rascal, criminal, bank robber, and ultimately the most accomplished counterfeiter in American history. Based on Vogel’s daughter’s book about her tumultuous relationship with a father she could not stop loving, this film is simultaneously confusing, overdone, badly edited, and too much for Penn to both guide as director and bring to life as an actor. It’s a family affair, also, with Penn’s daughter Dylan appearing as the adoring daughter who just can’t seem to separate from her charismatic, larger-than-life father but can’t be happy with him either. Vogel is two people, the fun, over-the-top dad and also the pathetic low-life who will always let his children down, given that choice. Hopper Jack Penn also appears as the flim-flam dad’s son, though mostly as an afterthought when the director seems to suddenly realize the audience hasn’t seen Nick in a good while, and voila! He reappears to check in then is gone once again.
Flag Day. Yes, what is that? Not the fourth of July, it is assumed but an unrecognized patriotic holiday that coincides with John Vogel’s birth date. Confusing. More confusing is the penchant for the film to only provide vague “hints” that Vogel is up to no good, until, finally, we see him rob a bank. But his biggest claim to infamy, the counterfeiting caper is present only out of sequence at the film’s beginning when the audience is clueless as to what’s being spoken about.
The two children who portray Nick and Jennifer as youngsters are quite good and seem to have more grasp and greater potential than their adult counterparts, the Penn offspring. Dylan, unfortunately, is assigned a large role as narrator for much of the film and she can’t seem to find the necessary consonants to make herself understood in her monologues. To add to what seems to be a long string of just misdirection and confusion, Daniel Moder’s camera close-ups are often too close up and his subjects disappear in a blur, as the camera swipes quickly up, down, round or all three, leaving this audience member dizzy.
This is potentially a great story about the love and connection between a father and daughter which ultimately entangles and engulfs them both. Opportunities to tell that story are missed, overplayed, and overlooked and the result is a sad, pathetic and confusing montage of a “Disneyland Dad” and his lost daughter.
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