Heist

Year: 2001
Directed By: David Mamet
Written By: David Mamet

RYAN’S REVIEW

This is a movie of great one liners with clever and witty dialogue all throughout the movie. It’s a movie that will keep you guessing with many twists and turns. Its cast is made up of mainly older actors who prove that they still had plenty to offer. I think the most important thing about this movie is that it is cool; its coolness factor makes it significant if nothing else does.

This was written and directed by David Mamet who has been involved with some really great TV shows.  Specifically The Unit and one of my all-time favorite shows The Shield. I always think films that are written and directed by the same person have a special quality to them and that is there in this one.  Mamet wrote a really interesting story and he found some quality people to bring it to life.  I am a big fan of Gene Hackman and I think with this movie he proved that in 2001 he still had it.  As it is put in the movie “he’s so cool that when he goes to sleep the sheep count him.” This wasn’t the only great performance Hackman turned in at the plus 70 age range, but it is one of the last films he made.  Hackman was a great actor and I really miss seeing him in movies.  I have never been a big fan of Delroy Lindo but he isn’t a bad actor and does well in this movie. I think Danny Devito is great as the dangerous fence.  I am not a fan of what he has done on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia so I like a movie like this one that reminds me what he is capable of. I am a fan of It’s Always Sunny, but not the part that DeVito plays as Frank.  Frank has progressively gotten weirder and grosser to the point that his character as a whole only brings the show down now.

In the supporting roles of this film I really like Sam Rockwell.  I have always been a fan of his and I was really looking forward to what else he had to offer around the time this movie came out.  I don’t know why but for whatever reason his career seemed to move in reverse as the 2000’s progressed.  I am not really that familiar with Rebecca Pidgeon beyond this movie but I don’t know that I have to be.  She is a real badass as Hackman’s girlfriend/wife/whatever and the one that really keeps you guessing the whole time.  I don’t really like how her character panned out but I thought she was sexy in the role and fit well with the cast.

This is a movie that I found impressive the first time I saw it and I still enjoy it.  It doesn’t garner enough of my enthusiasm now having just reviewed a different but similar film in Heat.  Heat is an entirely different film altogether but they are both about criminals pulling heists so the similarity is there.  I think this movie has too much that just works out too perfectly for the characters involved but that is the main flaw.  There is also some poor audio with background music playing over dialogue but I think that is simply the work from a less seasoned director in Mamet.  I do think Mamet did a good job otherwise though and he wrote a great story.  This is a cool movie and I think it is worth your time if you have an opportunity to see it.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I actually really like this movie. It’s a little long, but it’s worth the time. I am a big fan of Gene Hackman, so I could watch it for that reason alone.

I really like the design for this movie. It is set up in a grid-like structure that was pretty popular around the time that it came out. I also like the use of typography in the top right corner. The last names have hierarchy over the first names of the big names of the movie. (haha) The only thing I find really inconsistent with it is that Hackman’s face looks posed and purposeful, while the other faces are scenes from the movie. I feel like they should have either gone with all faces, or all scenes. Other than that, I like this one.

NEXT MOVIE: Hellboy (2004)