Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Robert De Niro | ... | Nick | |
Edward Norton | ... | Jack / Brian | |
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 |
Three generations of method acting giants unite for this crime thriller written by Kario Salem and directed by Frank Oz. Robert De Niro stars as Nick Wells, an aging thief whose specialty is safe-cracking and who is on the verge of retiring to a life of ease, running his jazz club and romancing his girlfriend Diane (Angela Bassett). But before he can ride off into the sunset, Nick is pressured to do one last job by his mentor and business partner, a flamboyant and extravagant upscale fence named Max (Marlon Brando). Max is plotting the heist of the Montreal Customs House, and he's got a man on the inside, Jackie Teller (Edward Norton), a talented but volatile crook who has managed to ingratiate himself with the facility's staff as a fellow employee suffering from cerebral palsy. Jackie bristles at Nick's interference in "his" score, however, and threatens violence when it seems he's going to be cut out of the action. In the meantime, Nick grows increasingly ill at ease about the ...
First of all, I didn't hate this movie. The acting was good, the locations were colorful and interesting, and I wasn't bored. (Even though the plot of the movie moved slowly, each scene was interesting for one thing or another.) But we've all seen this basic plot many times. Sometimes seeing a formula once again can be fun, if it's filled with energy or a different perspective. But this movie just seemed content to present what we've seen before, and add nothing new to them. If you're bored this movie will do, but I don't think it's one to go out of your way for.
(P.S. - Fans of Brando and Bassett will be disappointed; not only are their roles very small, but their parts could easily have been written out with no real consequence to the story.)