A combination of criminal smoothness and overloaded neuroses, Cage pulls off the lead role better than any actor imaginable.

Credible? Not really. But Cage and Rockwell play off each other with devilish finesse. And Lohman (White Oleander) is on fire -- she's a comer.

This movie is a model of technique, beautifully crafted, often brilliantly acted by Cage and the others, but it's a bit hollow at the center.

That's where the movie falters: It tries to give Garcia's book a heart and conscience it didn't need and never demanded.

Actually, there's one other way to approach Matchstick Men, and that's to forget all about neuroses and con artistry and admire the movie instead for the unsettlingly beautiful directorial study in geographical mood that it is.