Bob is an ageing American thief living in Nice, hoping to do one last job so he can retire on the proceeds. The job involves stealing a rare painting from a casino in Monte Carlo. The local police chief is hot on Bob's heels.
Seriously. Screw The Italian Job. Screw The Great Train Robbery. Screw Oceans Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen whatever!
Two things - texture and pace. Neil Jordan's... more >
Seriously. Screw The Italian Job. Screw The Great Train Robbery. Screw Oceans Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen whatever!
Two things - texture and pace. Neil Jordan's The Good Thief is for me, by far, the best addition to a very weary genre, cliched by the usual immaculately-dressed hoodlums with unbelievably smooth lines and unbelievably advanced gadgets. While every heist movie tries to be cleverer than the previous one, along comes this delightful flick, which plays more on proper characterisation and cinematic execution instead of excessively charming characters like the George Clooneys and Brad Pitts of Oceans fame. Here we have amongst others, a down-and-out heroin addict, a Bosnian whore, her jealous small-time gangster lover, her possessive pimp and a sympathetic police officer. No character is the epitome of evil nor the pinnacle of virtue and this I feel is a true reflection of real people in the shady world.
Nick Nolte is all too perfect in these roles for a reason -he was or still is an addict in real life. The face, the mumbling, the countenance - he's got it all. So what he does in this film is that he goes cold turkey by cuffing himself to his bed so that he may be well enough to pull off a very grand heist. His policeman friend is always on his tail, trying to talk him out of it but the man has got a plan so clever it would be impossible to pass on. Telling you the story would just ruin it so let's just say that this is, in essence, a story about Bob who assembles his motley crew of old hands to pull of a robbery but confuses everyone (including his own men!) as to what exactly he is robbing. Is it the casino safe on the night before the Grand Prix in Monte Carlo? Is it the paintings in the casino? Or could it be something else? The flow is engaging to the very end and you will not be disappointed.
One of the most impressive things about the film is the casting. For one, it has many international stars besides Nolte. I found out from imdb that actors like Tchéky Karyo (Roger the policeman) are one of the most recognisable faces in French cinema, although I only remember him from Hollywood's Joan Of Arc. Emir Kusturica (Vlad the security expert) is a perennial choice for those dysfunctional unshaven criminal roles. There is a debut here for then 18-year-old Georgian actress Nutsa Kukhianidze who plays the teenage whore. I of course liked Saïd Taghmaoui the most because of his unforgettable performance in La Haine which was his big break in world cinema. He plays a similar character here even! A proper cast profile is available on the DVD extras section.
You should also look out for all the Leonard Cohen and Bono songs which just slip right into the score like it was written specially for it. "A Million Kisses Deep" is a recurring theme in the story. Truly enjoyable.
