Movie
Review | The Good Thief
Reviewed by: Brian
Orndorf
Bob (Nick Nolte) is a gambling and heroin addict who has just lost
his last dime in Paris. Caught in a downward spiral that’s sure to
end in a prison sentence, Bob is propositioned by an old friend to
pull off a rare painting heist in a large casino located in Monte
Carlo. Sensing that this is his last chance for success, Bob quits
both his habits cold turkey and focuses on the complicated burglary
plans. While pulling together a ragtag group (including filmmaker Emir
Kusturica) to handle the details, Bob keeps his eye on the local cop (Tcheky
Karyo, “The Core“) who’s tailing him, and Anne (Nutsa Kukhanudze),
a teenaged Russian girl who can’t be trusted with the secrets that
every man wants to willingly give her.
Heist pictures are a dime a dozen recently, but Neil Jordan’s
“The Good Thief” (a remake of the 1955 film “Bob le flambeur”)
sets itself apart from the pack with its colossal grittiness. This
isn’t a film about slick, well dressed young men running around
pulling off confidence games with the latest in high-tech gadgets.
“Thief” is about small time losers, whores, and former heroin
addicts who have hit rock bottom, and have no other choice but to
believe in the big score. “Thief” isn’t a film based around
twists and turns either. While they do play a part in the story,
Jordan keeps the games to minimum. He’s more interested in the
procedural tones of the heist, and the characterizations of the
participants. Jordan himself has been on an unlucky streak with a
handful of well-intentioned, but financially disappointing projects
(“In Dreams, “ The Butcher Boy“). “Thief” certainly
doesn’t represent Jordan’s heart, but it does showcase his gift
for telling a tall tale.
“The Good Thief” crackles with tension and delight as Jordan
writes his characters in a heightened manner. The dialog is quick and
playful, which can be a detriment when it comes into contact with the
picture’s global cast (who, at the very least, attempt to speak
English), and Nolte’s own brand of pure, uncut mumble. Jordan also
forgoes typical slickness with this picture. He bathes the cast in
such incredible shadows and grain, that you almost beg the screen to
give you a close-up in which you can actually see a face clearly. The
goal is to lend a noir-ish feel to the proceedings, backed with
appropriate Leonard Cohen and Bono songs that set the mood nicely, and
the mission is accomplished, with the audience feeling Bob’s
underbelly journey wholeheartedly.
“Thief” represents Nick Nolte’s first role since his
unfortunate arrest last fall on drug charges. It’s a little morbid
that this role requires Nolte to play an addict, and it should be no
surprise that’s he’s great in the film. Turning down the volume on
his normal amplified rage routine, Nolte holds “Thief” together
with his first subtle performance in years. He’s backed by great
cast, but the eyes always seem to find Nolte in every frame he’s in
(that is until a cameoing Ralph Fiennes shows up to steal some
scenes).
Also of interest is Nutsa Kukhanudze as the Russian femme fatale.
Though she speaks in a dull Russian drone, and has peculiar bowl
haircut for a man killer, Kukhanudze radiates sexiness from every
pore. She’s the flame that heats “The Good Thief” when the film
becomes bogged down in details, and her performance appears to come
out of nowhere. Like Nolte, she attracts attention by merely standing
still. An interesting English-language debut for the young actress.
The heist film genre is getting awfully tired, but here’s “The
Good Thief” to show that there still is life is these dark corners
of the gambler’s heart.
Grade: 8/10
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