Heist (2001/I)

Director:

David Mamet

Writer (WGA):

David Mamet (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Love makes the world go 'round... Love of Gold.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Heist | Nephew | Gold | Jewelry | Jewel Thief

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

Also Known As:

Le vol (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #38180) | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

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.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The boxes in the airplane containing the gold come from the "Bank of Geneva" and have the image of a bear. The animal of Geneva is the eagle, not the bear, which belongs to Berne, the Swiss capital.

Quotes:

Bergman: I'm your partner. I don't set you up, what do you got? liddle lamzy divey.

Movie Connections:

References House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Good dialogue – but the plot is a little tired

After an elaborate jewel robbery Joe Moore and his crew go to collect their cut from Bergman. However Bergman ropes them into another job – taking gold from a Swiss airline prior to transfer. Joe reluctantly agrees to do the job and takes Bergman's nephew along to reassure him. However Joe is never without a backup plan and double cross follows double cross.

This really tries to be good – it has a good sense of tough moodiness about it and has plenty of good lines and a top class cast. However it tries too hard to be a twisty crime thriller and doesn't quite convince. Where twists and double crosses are best is when they are unexpected and surprising. Heist has so many `twists' that they lack impact or power. Instead of being surprised we expect the next one to be only a few seconds away. Although some of them are clever most of them lack the punch Mamet clearly wanted them to have. That said it's still an enjoyable thriller but don't expect the plot to stand up in the cold light of day.

As I said the cast are famous and all do well. Hackman is grizzled but clever and can easily `do tough', Lindo is always good to watch but Ricky Jay seems out of place. I always find him easy to watch because he is naturally curious I think but his manner doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the cast. DeVito and Rockwell are good. It would be hard to compete in such a male driven plot and indeed Pidgeon struggles to get a character for herself.

The cast do so well because Mamet is a good writer of dialogue – even if he overdid the twists, lines are quotable, funny or just cool – `My motherf****r is so cool when he goes to sleep sheep count him' or `don't you want to hear my last words?' – `I just did'. Even if the plot doesn't convince the direction, the dialogue and the cast make this better than the mess it should be.

Overall it has good qualities, but the one driving force it needed was a much better story. It's entertaining enough to pass 100 minutes – but really the many word that comes to mind is disappointing.