Heist (2001)

Directed by David Mamet. Starring Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Danny DeVito, Ricky Jay, Jim Frangione, Patti LuPone. [R]

After his face is caught on camera during a jewelry store heist, professional thief Hackman intends to retire and disappear, but his implacable backer/fence (DeVito) ropes him and his crew into doing one more job. Intelligent, not-entirely-incredible heist picture charged with dry wit and noir touches, and packing an armload of quirky quips that ride David St. Hubbins’ fine line between clever and stupid (“My motherf—er is so cool, when he goes to bed, sheep count him,” “Everybody needs money; that’s why they call it money,” etc.). The double-crosses aren’t hard to spot, yet the goodwill generated by these actors convinces us to happily pretend we were fooled. The climactic shootout feels like a surrender to formula, but it’s otherwise an absorbing entry in the caper sub-genre. Art Linson co-produced.

75/100