Heist
 
reviewed by Doug
Schneider Writer/director
David Mamet can always be counted on to deliver something that will make you think a
little. He’s a very clever writer (something that’s becoming increasingly rare
in films these days) who relies on plot development rather than meaningless special
effects. His 1997 film The Spanish Prisoner is a gem that’s rare in a day when
Hollywood seems only interested in recycling formulaic plots.
Heist stars Gene Hackman as Joe Moore,
an aging criminal with a sexy young wife named Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet’s wife).
Joe and his team are highly experienced criminals who work together like clockwork. They
can run a burglary with the precision of a finely tuned watch. They enjoy what they do,
but they’re getting old and Joe, in particular, wants to retire. They have a problem,
though. A guy named Bergman (Danny DeVito) won’t let them walk away from their life
of crime until they do one last job for him. To complicate matters worse, Bergman wants to
add someone into Joe’s team.
Mamet loves complex stories that twist and turn and take
you in unexpected directions and then drop you right in a spot you least expect. He did
that in The Spanish Prisoner to fine effect, and he tries to do that here many
times over. I enjoyed this movie and loved the unexpected places it took me, but I tired
after a while when he twisted it a few too many times. In fact, I came to expect
the unexpected twist, which, when you think about it, isn’t so unexpected after all.
In something that’s supposed to be a tight little thriller, some of the thrill gets
diluted because of it.
That isn’t to say that this movie isn’t worth seeing. It is. There are
moments in here that are some of Mamet’s best work yet, like the jewelry robbery at
the beginning. The fact that he started off so well with these well-orchestrated scenes
set my hopes high. Unfortunately, Heist doesn’t quite keep that pace, and it
falls a little. In the end, it’s a flawed thriller that’s still better than most
of what we’re seeing in the theaters these days. It is recommended with a *** rating. |
