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"The Heist" reminds me alot of this years "The Score" which was equally a good movie. Hackman plays Joe Moore, a thief who wants to retire but is forced by a longtime associate Bergman(DeVito) to do another job, but this time MOore must take along Bergman's newphew. Moore has a few he works with and trusts who are in on the heist - which is basically stealing a bunch of gold in an elaborate scheme.
The idea of "The Heist", the plot, is in fact MORE appealing than in "The Score". Yet I really enjoyed the actors in "The score" better. Ah, if only Edward Norton, DeNiro and Gene Hackman could have all been in "The Heist"! (yes, i could live without marlon brando's performance) Because those are very strong characters, and I felt many of the characters in "The Heist" are weak, with the exception of Hackman who is a very strong presense in the film.
Moore is a complex man, but he just wants the simple things in life it seems. He's very intelligent and experienced. He keeps in cool in heated situations, unlike the new tag-along in this job. Not to mention the curious relationship between Moore and his girlfriend/wife who is willing to do anything as part of their schemes. I can't understand why a man like that would trust her, or would be with her. In fact for a good portion of the film I kept speculating that she was his daughter. :) That might have made her character more interesting...and one hell of a twist ending.
What makes the film hold together well is the slow unravelling of the heist. Seeing pieces of it in the beginning finally fitting into place towards the end. It's a smart film that isn't too smart - as it goes along if you have your thinking cap on you can speculate as to what happened, and what is going to happen. It's a nice brainteaser with a clever ending. It was a simple lack of good character development maybe, or perhaps the choice of actors in the supporting roles that had me wishing there was more to it. Still it gets a pretty decent score. It's just sad the review can't be extended any further, it's not really the type of film that makes you want to talk about it. |
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