Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Nice to hear from LostOptimist, one of our longtime friends here at the site. I’m dying to see this one. When Neil Jordan’s on, he’s a stylist of enormous wit. And it’s not like he’s got any lack of good source material here. I love BOB LE FLAMBEUR, and am in the middle of writing my review of Melville’s long-lost LE CIRCLE ROUGE right now. So how’s the remake hold up? Let’s see...
Hey Guys,
Saw a DGA screening for THE GOOD THIEF last week and was holding off on giving my take on it until someone else submitted something but, well, I can’t stand it any longer. I need to talk about it so, without further adieu, here’s my review. Print it, don’t print it... do with it what you will.
First, let it be known that this particular piece of celluloid, Neil Jordan’s latest, is yet another riff on Jean Pierre-Melville’s classic heist film, BOB LE FLAMBEUR, which inspired both the original OCEAN’S 11 and its remake amongst others. In fact, like Soderbergh's recent re-make, Jordan’s film bathes itself in a mildly intoxicating aura of hip and cool but that’s pretty much where the similarities end; for where OCEAN’S 11 sagged in it’s character development and lack of colorful dialogue, THE GOOD THIEF excels. You can thank Jordan for that as he’s also the movie’s screenwriter but, to be fair, the bulk of the movie’s success should probably go to Nick Nolte, he of the grizzled and liquor-soaked voice. Nolte, who is probably in more than 3/4’s of the movie’s scenes, plays "Bob", a down on his luck gambler, alcoholic and heroin junkie. His one saving grace, other than that of being a slightly above average thief, is his verbal acuity and wit. When he speaks he rattles off a stream of snappy, hard-boiled commentary that not only wouldn’t seem out of place in the world of Mickey Spillane but is said in such a precise manner that it charms and seduces nearly everyone he comes in contact with, including his nemesis on the police force, Roger (Tchéky Karyo), and Georgian runaway Anne (a spectacular Nutsa Kukhiani).
As far as the plot goes, it’s one of your typical finding-a-bunch-of-guys-to-pull-off-the-heist-even-though-the-cops–already-know-about-it scenarios. It’s not exactly high-concept or original, but that’s not what these movies are really about anyway. For me, at least, it’s always been about atmosphere and the people you meet along the way, the individuals who get conscripted for the "big score". In this case – and here’s what really sets the movie apart from the others – we get a truly international cast that includes actors from the United States, France, Bosnia, Georgia, Turkey and England. Plus, there are three acting turns by previous feature film directors that are just downright fascinating to watch (Emir Kusturica as a burly cigar chomping, electric-guitar playing security expert; and twin brothers Mark and Michael Polish who play "The Inside Man"). Also, it’s worth noting that Jordan has yet another feature film director on hand, Chris Menges, as his director of cinematography.
Now, while I definitely recommend seeing the movie, I do feel compelled to make one teeny-tiny caveat: If you’re reason for paying $10 to see THE GOOD THIEF is for the sole purpose of witnessing a classic heist, some huge pyrotechnic pay-off at the end, you will be disappointed. The heist we get really isn’t all that elaborate or thrilling (and I can see it being construed by many as something to complain and gripe about). Actually, let me rephrase. There are two heists planned by Bob and his cohorts and, of the two Jordan chose to show, you can argue he chose the less interesting one, and I can picture many people who are purely fans of the genre and not Jordan’s work leaving the theatre unimpressed. I don’t want to give too much away but suffice it to say that the movie isn’t really about the heist or the pay-off. It’s about, as Bob himself is wont to say, "what money can't buy: beauty." If that’s the sort of motivation that you find murky at best in an anti-hero, or deem too romantic and unappealing then, well, I must reiterate that as a genre picture the film may very well dissatisfy you. That being said, however, if you are a fan of Jordan and his work (and I’m talking more MONA LISA, CRYING GAME and END OF THE AFFAIR than IN DREAMS and MICHAEL COLLINS), please, for the love of God, go see it. You’ll be glad you did.
--Lost Optimist
Well, consider me warned and ready to go, man. Thanks for writing, and it’s always good to hear from you.
"Moriarty" out.
