One thing I find really enchanting about heist movies, as opposed to other crime movies, is that the audience is almost always intended to thoroughly identify with and root for the thieves (I suppose there is a British tradition of this way back to Robin Hood), who are generally good-natured and well-meaning in their own ways. We hope they succeed and get away with the crime. Part of the impulse is that they have to be really smart to succeed, and audiences always appreciate and want to identify with a smart "anti-hero." The cops in these movies are usually sort of bumbling and not really well-matched to their foes, although they sometimes get their man. And there's usually some unforeseen glitch (like the gold statuettes falling into the hands of a recalcitrant British brat).
Do you have any thoughts on this as a heist film, particularly a comic heist film?
12 comments:
While I did find myself rooting for the thieves, I didn't particularly love the main character.
Also, I thought the bumbling of the British police was not particularly amusing.
What about the fact that he didn't get away with it at the end? How does that fit into the heist film concept?
First off, all the best caper (call it what it is, kc) flicks are always comedies. The thriller/suspense variety just aren’t as good. And the best ones are older. There has been a sad trend towards making the heist far too long, far too complicated, and basically just too damn much hard grunt work. I mean the blokes in a recent caper would be better off to forget about the heist and just open a hedge fund and steal their money in a nice easy white collar way.
Oh, I’d say that Alec Guinness was just about born to play roles like this. Anybody see “Kind Hearts and Coronets” or “The Ladykillers”?
Yes, yes, caper is the word.
What did you think of "the Thomas Crown Affair" (the original with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway)? It's not a comedy, but it has a lot of wit. It also has the added charm that the thief is already well-to-do.
"To Catch a Thief" comes to mind as another urbane caper (with the fabulous Grace Kelly and Cary Grant).
I've never been able to sit all the way through "Dog Day Afternoon."
I haven't seen either of the movies you mentioned, DW. Worthwhile?
Ben, I mentioned in my post that sometimes the bumbling cops get their man, and here they did. In this case, it was a detective who was smarter than the average bobby.
But that brings up an interesting question: Do you think the movie would work just as well, or better, if he got away with it? (It seems like he was arrested just as his money from the six statuettes was running out ... so the filmmakers let him at least get a good taste of the life he dreamed about).
It almost seems like it had to happen that way (i.e., he had to get caught). It reminds me of Dangerous Liaisons. It might have seemed like something was not right in the world of the movie had he gotten away with it.
This would be worth researching since I don’t know much about it. The British had a board of censors that I think functioned a bit like the Production Code did here in the U.S.. So it might have been hard for the filmmakers to let the crook completely get away with it.
I rather liked the way they did it since, in a way, he both did and did not get away. Also, I usually don’t like framing devices in movies, but this one was an exception. The opening scene at the start creates the expectation that he outwitted the cops; the handcuffs at the end created a good final sight gag.
DW just took the words right out of my mouth. It was great that he got away with it and then didn't. It was very satisfying to the audience, I think.
Exactly: a good final sight gag.
Now I want to rewatch the beginning to see how he used his hands. He gave a couple people money. Did he do it with one hand? Or maybe he wasn't cuffed yet.
Oh, I haven’t taken the movie back yet, so I’ll have a look.
That was another nice touch. His left arm remains under the table or obscured by the other man the whole time. It is obvious enough on second viewing, but they made it too subtle to seem strange when you first see it. I always wonder if such bits help set you up unconsciously for the later reveal.
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