The Good Thief
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Movie Reviews of The Good Thief
Movie Review: Neil Jordan is a master!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the Good Thief, Neil Jordan revisits some of his signature territory (down and out criminal type who dreams of something larger in a sea-side landscape) with a breezy, light-hearted spirit. Unlike Mona Lisa or the Crying Game (some of my favorite films), the main character doesn't have to swallow a bitter pill at the end. As a heroin-addict and master thief, Nick Nolte gives a tempered but not tortured performance. He's the man that all the male characters want to be & all the women want to be with (at least all the drug-addicted underage prostitutes and bar owners do!). And you start to understand why--it's great fun to watch Nolte's rumpled addict at the start (complete with a series of unfortunately-patterned leisure shirts), be seduced by his non-stop inventive storytelling and applaud him when, with luck regained, he grandstands an amazing night of gambling, impervious to the success or failure of his double heist that's being enacted at the same time. After seeing this movie and Affliction, I have to say Nolte's a great actor. People in the audience were clapping and laughing out loud when I saw it. The film is smart and incredibly fun to look at with stylish freeze-frames, fluid camera, beautifully colorful images. The soundtrack is terrific as well--reflects the multi-national cast and setting.
One caveat: I did have to see the film twice to understand all the dialogue which is delivered in throw-away fashion by the mostly European cast; however, second viewing allowed me to appreciate how cleverly the plot and characters are constructed. As another reviewer mentioned, all character development has some important pay-off (while also delivering imaginative portraits from this melting-pot Mediterranean underworld). This isn't McGyver--really the point of this heist movie isn't the mechanics of how the caper goes down, but the enjoyable characters who you follow through the story.
Highly recommended!
Movie Review: Zip, Verve, Polish and Challenge
Summary: 5 Stars
Neil Jordan has done it again! THE GOOD THIEF is another one of those truly excellent films that for some reason didn't make it in the theaters. Perhaps it takes too much concentration from an audience ready for a blowup blaster heist of a story. That is here, but it it is delivered in so sophisticated a manner that the actual casino caper is secondary to the quality of the story, and characters who populate it. Set on the Riviera, Nick Nolte stars as a 'has been' con man who apparently decides to have one last fling - but to do so he has to shake his herion addiction and clean up his past a bit. This done, he encounters an assembled cast of characters that are each interesting and well acted, from a beautiful newcomer who plays the sole love interest to an arachnophobic body builder undergoing a sex change. The police are for once treated as interesting individuals instead of chumps, the plans for the heist are laid out in a spellbinding way, and the whole planned caper is photographed in stylish camerawork which includes mesmerizing freeze frames that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.If you can figure out the ending before it happens then you will be among the few! Jordan paces this excellent film so well that it packs a wallop and all along the way he offers little asides that make you laugh and make you identify with the incredible assortment of people he has created and directed,
PS: Turn on the subtitles (English) before you start this film as there are so many varying accents in this melting pot on the Riviera that you may miss some great lines if you depend on your ears!
Movie Review: DON'T MISS THIS FILM!
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in the beautiful and panoramic hills of the South of France, THE GOOD THIEF is an intriguing remake of the 1955 French film noir classic BOB LE FLAMBEUR. Bob Montagnet (Nick Nolte), a gambler and drug addict down on his luck and fortune, assembles a crew to pull off a casino heist while deceiving the French police, in particular Roger (Tcheky Keryo) who has been given a tip of Montagnet's plans. Seeking refuge from her pimp, Anne (Nutsa Kukhianidze) helps Montagnet get clean while simultaneously trying to seduce him with her stunning body and youthful charm. In THE GOOD THIEF Nolte delivers an impressive performance that makes one believe that he remains true to his form. The viewer trusts his characterization of a strung-out gambler and his pain is well detailed across his persona. To top it off, Nolte throws in some laughs and is creative in his interactions with Roger, the member of the French police who is insistently following him. The cinematography is original and inventive as end of scenes are frequently met with a freeze of the last frame. It's jolting but at the same time it peaks interest in the film. Scenes of backroom gambling in addition to the utilization of primary, bold colors throughout this film creates an effective portrayal of the underbelly of this often-cited glamorous geographical location of Europe. Overall, THE GOOD THIEF is a bold and original film that rightly deserves recent critical acclaim. I fully recommend this film.Movie Review: A Rare and perfect mix........What Movies Are All About!
Summary: 5 Stars
Such an interesting movie. A remake of a French classic, the original of which I haven't seen in years (Bob Le Flambeur). The original was a noir classic, and all about style, but a style that helped tell the story in a bold, new way, and a movie that helped to jump start the French New Wave Cinema to come. Well, this movie is all about style too, but again, it is style for the sake of telling the story....and this is an incredible fresh and new take on storytelling....a familiar story, but told with such a confidence and a visual flair that it makes it a joy to watch the story slowly unfold. Great directing by Neil Jordan, who has given us some remarkable films, all told with such an original eye you cannot help but admire anything the man has done. Storytelling at its finest! That is why I love the cinema so much. The incredible artistry involved ( or should I say that can be involved ) in making a great film can be a real wonder to behold......I loved this movie!! And a whole other review could be written about the acting. Nick Nolte obviously stand out, in one of his best performances, but every single actor involved help make the story so believable, so honest, so funny and sad......bringing a truth to the characters that takes the film up an extra notch, making it an even more special and beautiful film. Not a missed beat throughout the film......please, give this one a chance. You will be rewarded with some fine storytelling.
Movie Review: Not on of Jordan's best...but still good.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I read in Film Comment last year that Neil Jordan (who made The Crying Game, one of my all-time favorite films) was making a remake of the great Jean Pierre Melville's classic Bob Le Flembeur, I was very excited but at the same time worried. As most of us who have seen it know, it's one of the greatest crime films ever made (one of Melville's best). Needless to say, this film does the original justice and more. Nick Nolte turns in brilliant performance after performance (just his face is interesting to look at) and this film is no exception. After making a string of bad movies in the early-mid 90's, he bounced back with a haunting role in Affliction and has been on top of his game. Ralph Fiennes makes the most of his short yet memorable role. Jordan's camera prowls and stalks the streets of Monte Carlo like a minx, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Great photograpy, direction, performances, and screenplay make this (so far) one of the best films of 2003.