Heist (2001)

A career jewel thief finds himself at tense odds with his longtime partner, a crime boss who sends his nephew to keep watch.

Director:

David Mamet

Writer:

David Mamet

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Danny DeVito

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:

time bomb | gang | heist | wife's sexual pretence | one word title | 

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Taglines:

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

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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 [Hungary] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heist - Der letzte Coup

Filming Locations:

Mirabel, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,823,521, 11 November 2001

Gross USA:

$23,510,841

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,510,652

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment, 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

One of five films that Gene Hackman appeared in 2001. The other films included "The Mexican" starring Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and the late James Gandolfini, who he co-starred with in "Crimson Tide" in 1995, "Heartbreakers" starring Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt, "Beyond Enemy Lines" which was released on Christmas Day 2001 and co-starred Owen Wilson, with whom he would co-star with in "The Royal Tennenbaums" starring Hackman, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray and Danny Glover which would be released for Oscar Consideration a few weeks before that film.

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Goofs

When the Captain of the 727 checks in with the tower, he states that he is "now taking the active" for takeoff, without ever being being given permission to go into position on the runway. The last instructions he received was to "Taxi to runway Alpha India", (which is non-existent anyway as all runways are numbered in accordance with the headings on a compass). Simply taking the active without receiving a clearance to do so is a severe violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

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Quotes

Pinky: Oh my, oh my. Go sell chocolates you Heidi-motherfuckers, go sell cukoo clocks, we got your gold!

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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 Conversation (1974)

User Reviews

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.