Heist (2001)

A jewel thief's nephew is sent along on a heist to ensure a longtime partner in crime stays honest about the division of the loot.

Director:

David Mamet

Writer:

David Mamet

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Joe Moore
Danny DeVito	...	Mickey Bergman (as Danny Devito)
Delroy Lindo	...	Bobby 'Bob' Blane
Sam Rockwell	...	Jimmy Silk
Rebecca Pidgeon	...	Fran Moore
Ricky Jay	...	Don 'Pinky' Pincus
Patti LuPone	...	Betty Croft (as Patti Lupone)
Alan Bilzerian	...	Fast Food Customer
Richard L. Friedman	...	Counterman
Robert Lussier	...	Fast Food Cook
Mark Camacho	...	Jewelry Store Guard
Michelle Sweeney	...	Waitress
Elyzabeth Walling	...	Jewelry Saleswoman
Mike Tsar	...	Coffee Cart Man (as Mike Tsarouchas)
Jim Frangione	...	D.A. Freccia

Storyline

David Mamet takes this story of thieves along many twists and turns, some of which work and some of which don't. Gene Hackman plays the brilliant leader of a gang (Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay & Rebecca Pigeon as Hackman's youngish wife), which pulls off complex heists for a despicable fence (Danny DeVito). After stiffing the gang on a jewelry robbery, DeVito forces the gang to go after a Swiss gold shipment and to use his nephew (Sam Rockwell) in the crime. No one trusts anyone and every step is shaded with the unexpected.

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Plot Keywords:

heist | partner | swiss | gold | thief | 

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Taglines:

It isn't love that makes the world go round.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Best Hollywood [hu] Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heist - Der letzte Coup

Filming Locations:

Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$169,546 (Brazil) (9 August 2002)

Gross:

$306,735 (Brazil) (23 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Indelible Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening scene, Pinky (Ricky Jay) is carrying a stack of books. The title of one of these books is "The Magic of Barcelona". Ricky Jay is widely considered the best slight of hand magician in the world today.

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Goofs

The New Zealand passports have "New Castle, New Zealand" printed in the issuing office section of the passport. There is no New Castle in New Zealand.

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Quotes

Jimmy: So, is he going to be cool?
Pinky: My motherfucker is so cool, when he goes to bed, sheep count him.

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Crazy Credits

The opening Warner Bros., Morgan Creek, and Franchise Pictures logos are in black and white.

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Connections

References The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

User Reviews

Tries too hard

Knowing the quality of Mamet's previous works, maybe I expected too much out of this one, but as it stands I just wasn't impressed by this film. Am I the only one who got bored during this movie? The characters were good except Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon). She is just there to deliver one-liners the whole time and provide sex appeal. I know her demeanor is quiet and conniving, but she just struts around waiting to make overly witty replies. The rest of the cast were excellent, Delroy Lindo outshined Hackman as his right-hand thug, Ricky Jay pulls off the calm and collected badass, Sam Rockwell delivers a good presence that you just hate, DeVito was awesome as the break-your-balls "bad" criminal and Hackman played his part well as he always does.

The story bored me however. You knew what was going to happen before it happened and there were too many twists in the movie that they lost their affect. Twists are good when used sparingly and when used at the right time. I didn't like the timing of them in this movie or the overuse of them. It got boring because the characters always pull something out of their hat when you "least expect it."

For me dialogue has to be two things, witty and believable. Now the dialogue in this film is witty, Mamet probably took a while to compile all these quotes into one movie, but it is too much. It is simply to much. All Rebecca Pidgeon says is these crafty responses and she engages no real conversation. As for believable, people don't speak like this. No one, not even the coolest cat in the world and half the time I am trying to figure out what the hell they mean.

The plot is way too contrived, it is too much. Their is a backup plan, for a backup plan, for a backup plan, for a ... The scene on the runway was crap, impossible. Never would have happened. Too many "overly" perfect plans and too many twists make this plot boring to watch.

Wait for the rental.