DVD review
Heist. Written and directed by David Mamet, starring Gene Hackman. And if you're not salivating already over that combination you're probably half braindead anyway. But does the film live up to these expectations? Well, yes and no.
It seems a deliberately hackneyed plot (ageing thief takes on one last job before retirement) but it gives Mamet a chance to continue with the double-crossing plot twists from House Of Games and The Spanish Prisoner while broadening the appeal with plenty of explosions and gunfights to reel in the action fans. Hackman plays the sort of tough, smart but slightly downtrodden character he's made into his own while Mamet again finds a role for his wife Rebecca Pidgeon as Hackman's sexy but possibly duplicitous young partner. The best thing to say about Pidgeon's performance is she is improving (her turn in The Spanish Prisoner was so wooden I thought her middle name must be 'Stool'), maybe with all the practise she's getting from Mamet's movies she's finally turning competent, but if I'm nitpicking she's not quite as drop-dead gorgeous as the part demands.
Danny deVito's also in it, as Hackman's malevolent fence. But don't let that put you off.
Yeah yeah yeah, I hear you say, but is it any good? Well, kinda. To be honest, I think I might have felt a bit cheated if I'd paid out at the cinema to see this, but it makes for good late-night small screen viewing. It's certainly not Mamet or Hackman at full stretch but it's still enjoyable watching them on a relatively gentle workout through their paces. Maybe by trying to compromise his arthouse integrity with commercial demands Mamet has made a film that falls between two stools in a bid to keep everyone happy. And maybe this is a movie that, like its central character, isn't quite as tough and smart as it likes to think it is.
Btw, the DVD (Region 2, anyway) has negligible extras, so I'd recommend renting this one.
Heist. Written and directed by David Mamet, starring Gene Hackman. And if you're not salivating already over that combination you're probably half braindead anyway. But does the film live up to these expectations? Well, yes and no.
It seems a deliberately hackneyed plot (ageing thief takes on one last job before retirement) but it gives Mamet a chance to continue with the double-crossing plot twists from House Of Games and The Spanish Prisoner while broadening the appeal with plenty of explosions and gunfights to reel in the action fans. Hackman plays the sort of tough, smart but slightly downtrodden character he's made into his own while Mamet again finds a role for his wife Rebecca Pidgeon as Hackman's sexy but possibly duplicitous young partner. The best thing to say about Pidgeon's performance is she is improving (her turn in The Spanish Prisoner was so wooden I thought her middle name must be 'Stool'), maybe with all the practise she's getting from Mamet's movies she's finally turning competent, but if I'm nitpicking she's not quite as drop-dead gorgeous as the part demands.
Danny deVito's also in it, as Hackman's malevolent fence. But don't let that put you off.
Yeah yeah yeah, I hear you say, but is it any good? Well, kinda. To be honest, I think I might have felt a bit cheated if I'd paid out at the cinema to see this, but it makes for good late-night small screen viewing. It's certainly not Mamet or Hackman at full stretch but it's still enjoyable watching them on a relatively gentle workout through their paces. Maybe by trying to compromise his arthouse integrity with commercial demands Mamet has made a film that falls between two stools in a bid to keep everyone happy. And maybe this is a movie that, like its central character, isn't quite as tough and smart as it likes to think it is.
Btw, the DVD (Region 2, anyway) has negligible extras, so I'd recommend renting this one.
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