Matchstick Men was directed by Ridley Scott with Nicolas Cage as the protagonist. The film was based on a book written by Eric Garcia. The film begins with Nicolas Cage as Roy Waller, a con artist who suffers from severe OCD and phobias, both of which are controlled by medication. His tendencies push him to want everything tidy and clean and also force him to open and close a door three times while counting out loud, sometimes in different languages. The alleged phobia he has concerns the outside, including doors open to the outside. Roy's usual scam that he is currently working on is to call people and tell them that they have won a large sum of money on which they have to pay a large tax, and then sell them water filtration systems saying that if they buy one, they will be able to avoid having to pay taxes on the lottery. I thought it was pretty funny when Roy's partner Frank was on the phone with one of these people. While he said the water filter cost $800, he was peeling off a sticker on the filter that said $50. Roy has medication for his OCD, which he obtains illegally from a doctor. When he runs out of medicine he calls the doctor, but he has moved. Without treatment, his OCD and phobia spiral so completely out of control that he locks himself in his house and refuses to answer the phone for three days while cleaning incessantly. After not seeing Roy for three days, Frank approaches and takes him to Dr. Kelin. Dr. Kelin gives Roy a prescription on the condition that Roy talks to him and undergoes a little therapy. In one of these interviews Dr. Kelin learns about Roy's ex-wife, whom he has not seen for 14 years, and who was pregnant with a child at the time. After a little thought about his past re...... middle of paper ......rs; Roy just assumed they were. The thing is, he helped Roy; the severity of his complaints decreased even though the drug had no effect on him. When you take something that you think should help you, but it actually doesn't, and it's just your brain thinking you feel better because you should, then it's a placebo. If I could say anything about this movie, I'd say it's really... really great. I might even say it's one of my favorite movies. I loved the actors and the HUGE twist in the plot that I didn't see coming was amazing. The only bad part of the movie that I didn't like was the strip bar scene and the swearing, but if you like those things, I guess they would make the movie even better (which, in my opinion, is almost impossible without the their elimination). I would definitely recommend this movie selectively to other people and will definitely watch it again.