The Score (2001)

An aging thief hopes to retire and live off his ill-gotten wealth when a young kid convinces him into doing one last heist.

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Daniel E. Taylor (story), Kario Salem (story),

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Nick Wells
Edward Norton	...	Jack Teller
Marlon Brando	...	Max
Angela Bassett	...	Diane
Gary Farmer	...	Burt
Paul Soles	...	Danny
Jamie Harrold	...	Steven
Serge Houde	...	Laurent
Jean-René Ouellet	...	André (as Jean Rene Ouellet)
Martin Drainville	...	Jean-Claude
Claude Despins	...	Albert
Richard Waugh	...	Sapperstein
Mark Camacho	...	Sapperstein's Cousin
Marie-Josée Colburn	...	Woman in Study (as Marie-Josee D'Amours)
Gavin Svensson	...	Man in Study

Storyline

Nick Wells, a professional criminal, decides to leave the business for good, since he nearly got caught on his last job. His plan is to live in peace with his girl Diane, running his Montreal jazz club. Soon afterward, Max, his good friend and financial partner, comes along with an offer Nick can't refuse: A historical and priceless French scepter has been discovered while being smuggled into the country. It is now under massive surveillance in the Montreal Customs House, and soon to be returned to France. Nick has to team up with Max's man inside, the young, talented and aggressive thief Jack Teller to get the precious item. Only one question remains: Who will trick whom out of their share?

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Plot Keywords:

thief | scepter | customs house | jazz club | heist | 

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Taglines:

There are no partners in crime

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cartada Final

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$184,599 (Netherlands) (2 November 2001)

Gross:

$1,649,345 (Italy) (2 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Mandalay Pictures, Horseshoe Bay Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When fighting in Jackie's apartment, Burt is shown slamming Jackie's face into the kitchen counter twice. He was filmed doing it only once; the second slam was created with precise editing.

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Goofs

When Nick uses water from the fire sprinkler system to fill the safe, that should have triggered a water flow alarm. There is a detection switch that sounds an alarm if water begins flowing through the system (as this is typically caused by a sprinkler head discharging water to put out a fire), which would summon the Fire Department. In addition the water flowing out of the pipe should have been a dark brown color, not crystal clear as shown in the movie. The stagnant water in fire sprinkler systems always contains high amounts of rust, pipe oil, pipe sealant, and other sediment.

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Quotes

Steven: The guy comes into *my* world and calls *me* an asshole!

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Connections

References Touch of Evil (1958)

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Soundtracks

"Autumn Leaves"
Written by Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prevert and Joseph Kosma
Performed by Cannonball Adderly with Miles Davis
Courtesy of Blue Note Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc., under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

The Score scores big!

Yep, it's another clichéd script: Career cat burglar Nick (Robert De Niro, Meet the Parents) is about to take on a nearly impossible heist that requires his joining forces with a talented but brash young accomplice, Jackie (Edward Norton, American History X), whom he doesn't particularly like. The dubious alliance, arranged by Nick's longtime friend and fence, Max (Marlon Brando, Don Juan deMarco), throws a wrench into Nick's plan to retire from crime and settle down with his lady love, Diane (Angela Bassett, Supernova).

Uh-huh. The old, "One more job, then I'll retire," routine. But that's where the routine ends. The trio of brilliant lead actors transcend the plot, and overcome the sometimes sluggish direction (courtesy of Frank Oz, who did Bowfinger and many other comedies -- and children's flicks, such as The Indian in the Cupboard). It's an absolute pleasure from start to finish, just to watch and study these men -- but then, they could probably be taking turns reading the phone book and make it seem fascinating. (Angela Bassett is excellent too, but she is unfortunately relegated to the one-dimensional, obligatory "girlfriend role" here.)

The score is a big one: a 16th century royal scepter worth $30 million dollars. It's locked away in the basement of The Customs House in Montreal, Canada, and security is getting tighter by the day. Jackie infiltrates the House, posing as "Brian," a janitor afflicted with cerebral palsy. Norton is flawless in his dual roles (remember his schizo debut in Primal Fear?), and better still, he plays Brian as funny and endearing without ever creeping into caricature-ville. Meanwhile, Nick is figuring out how to bypass the ironclad security system and crack the uncrackable safe. DeNiro doesn't have a lot to do with his character, but what he was given, he runs with. He not only makes you believe the clichés, you like them, dammit. Brando is clearly having fun with his role -- one tailor-made just for him. "I wrote the part specifically for Brando," said co-writer Kario Salem. "I imagined him as a cross between Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams -- someone of great flamboyance and humor and wit and someone of great size, both literally and figuratively." Brando nails it all the way. (Interesting aside: the roles of Nick and Jackie were originally slated for Michael Douglas and Ben Affleck.)

The twist ending is given away a bit too early (but then there's another twist), and there isn't anything here we haven't seen before. However, with three generations of the world's best actors on the screen, The Score scores big.