With past works like American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Spanish Prisoner and State And Main to his credit, I had high expectations of writer / director David Mamet’s latest offering. Unfortunately, this film seems likely to join The Edge and Hannibal as one of his less memorable projects.
It’s hard not to compare Heist with The Score, which came out earlier this year. They both feature great casts, have a similar storyline (retiring master-thief lured into one last job), and they were both shot in Montreal. Alas, Heist fails to match its predecessor.
With Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon and Ricky Jay all vying for attention, the field feels a tad crowded. Gene Hackman leads the film, but not strongly enough to really take it somewhere. Things can be made to work with this many prominent players. Get Shorty had a big roster (including 3 from this cast) and it was a great success. Some films pull it off; this one didn’t.
The storyline was too dense. It was supposed to be sharp and clever, but the plot turns got to be excessive. I could sense when they going to happen, and as they began to make less sense, the film lost credibility. Some people thought it was nice and low-key, but I found the gunfight scene to be flukey and completely unnecessary.
The “job” took up much of the film’s running time. I thought it was far-fetched in spots, and I missed the anticipation and preparation that made The Score more exciting and convincing.
Heist isn’t a total flop. All of the actors are decent, and there are some good, zesty one-liners scattered throughout. It’s certainly a better “guy” film than anything else on screens at the moment. On the other hand, I would definitely steer the more discriminating video renter back to The Score for its stronger characters and simpler plot. If you have your heart set on Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo in a clever, fast-paced, light-hearted crime caper, I recommend revisiting Get Shorty.