Heist movies can be tricky things, because the audience for the most part really can't get ahead of the characters, and the pros involved really need to have access to professional knowledge, as if this really is their job. So, in "The Conversation," (not a heist movie, but bear with me please), you really believe that Harry Caul knows surveilence equipment intimately and he's worked the job for years. You believe the guys in "High Fidelity" have worked that counter and knit together as a dysfunctional unit. That's the touch which finally sells the audience.
I believed De Niro, Norton, and Brando here. I could see that they knew their work. It was terrific to see the practical application of knowledge in preparing the heist. How do you know you can break into a safe? Build a scale model! How do you know you can smuggle necessary equipment into the building? Plant a harmless-seeming, somewhat ineffective employee no one would ever suspect. Indeed, the employee is beloved enough that he's literally handed the keys.
The film ticks away slowly and patiently and sets up an ending which is satisfying without being smart-ass about its own ingenuity. Man, I wish IMDB would give us 1/2 stars, because this is another that would go on my 7.5 list.
I'd like to have seen about ten minutes shaved off -- the film feels about that much too long. I never got restless, per se, but there were moments when I felt that the point of the scene had been made, and they could get on with it. The actors were probably having too much fun, and the acting alone ws worth the price of admission. The fact that good thespian skills were hung on a strong frame just makes it all that much more enjoyable.
Frank Oz does a good job here, and with this and "Bowfinger" he's creeping onto my list of directors to watch. And that, too, is a nice surprise.
I believed De Niro, Norton, and Brando here. I could see that they knew their work. It was terrific to see the practical application of knowledge in preparing the heist. How do you know you can break into a safe? Build a scale model! How do you know you can smuggle necessary equipment into the building? Plant a harmless-seeming, somewhat ineffective employee no one would ever suspect. Indeed, the employee is beloved enough that he's literally handed the keys.
The film ticks away slowly and patiently and sets up an ending which is satisfying without being smart-ass about its own ingenuity. Man, I wish IMDB would give us 1/2 stars, because this is another that would go on my 7.5 list.
I'd like to have seen about ten minutes shaved off -- the film feels about that much too long. I never got restless, per se, but there were moments when I felt that the point of the scene had been made, and they could get on with it. The actors were probably having too much fun, and the acting alone ws worth the price of admission. The fact that good thespian skills were hung on a strong frame just makes it all that much more enjoyable.
Frank Oz does a good job here, and with this and "Bowfinger" he's creeping onto my list of directors to watch. And that, too, is a nice surprise.