The Score (2001)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

13 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

There are no partners in crime

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Montreal | Thief | Customs House | Heist | Jazz Club

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Score (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | USA:R (certificate #38218) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hungary:14 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The computer codes relayed to the hacker are: 317 946 5839.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The first shot the computer hacker (played by Jamie Harrold) reveals in the bottom left-hand of the frame his right hand moving the computer mouse erratically and somewhat irrationally.

Quotes:

Max: [to Jack] You're not old enough to know where your dick is!

Movie Connections:

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Soundtrack:

Clap Your Hands

Standard plotting made better by cast

Nick Wells is a patient, professional, old school thief who works alone. A narrow escape convinces him that it is time to pack it up and settle down with his casual girlfriend Diane. However his middleman Max comes to him with a big score worth millions each and begins to try and convince him to do it. Acting as a downside to the job is Jack Teller, the guy with the insider information who Nick must work with as partners on the job. Even as trust is built between the three men, little things begin to be revealed that could put the whole job at risk.

Very few films are excellent in every regard, some have great plots but low production values where others have multimillion budgets but awful stories. The Score is rightly sold on it's cast for it as little else to offer an audience other than that. The plot is overly familiar and, while not bad, certainly doesn't hold any great surprises for anyone who's seen any `one last job' movies before. The telling is a little slow but holds the attention pretty well, while the job itself is unspectacular but enjoyable.

What makes it worth watching over many other similar twisty heist movies is the cast, who manage to make the material seem better by their inclusion. None of them really have anything special to work with but they all do well and do professional jobs. Norton is probably the standout of the film as he plays several types of character and is good in them all. De Niro does a reasonable job without being flashy or looking like he's making too much of an effort. Brando is OK but now always seems to have a half smile on his face to suggest he isn't taking anything seriously. I don't understand why Bassett bothered to be involved as her part is very small and doesn't add very much to the film – maybe it was a bigger part in the script?

Overall this film is basically nothing new and can be seen in many different forms at video stores world-wide. The thing that helps lift this a little above the rest is not the plot but the talented cast that have been assembled to run it. I enjoyed it and think it is worth watching for that.