Heist (2001)

“Everybody needs money. That’s why they call it money. ” – Bergman

Number of Times Seen – Twice (18 Apr 2002 and 10 Oct 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A group of thieves are hired to take on a very dangerous heist by a mob boss but the lack of trust between all involved leads to too many problems.

My Take on it – As a fan of heist movies, I was looking forward to watching this film again after so many years since I didn’t recall very much about what happens.

The story works so well because of the way that it is structured.

It allows for us to be constantly surprised by the characters and events because nothing is ever predictable even when it might seem that way.

David Mamet is an amazing writer and allows for the story to have lots of twists and turns along the way that helps raise the level of suspense as things move forward.

The characters are all written in very mysterious ways which helps keep the viewer in the edge of their seat since they all keep doing the unexpected as things progress.

The cast is superb and despite the fact that Gene Hackman is clearly the lead, the additions of Danny Devito, Delroy Lindo, Rachel Pidgeon, Sam Rockwell and Ricky Jay help make the viewer constantly feel the stakes of the story rising throughout.

The plot is constantly evolving throughout the film and keeps changing directions which helps make it even more intriguing to watch everything unfold especially since the characters all find way to do things more and more surprising as the film gets more intense and more thrilling to take in.

Bottom Line – Great heist film that works because of the way that the story constantly surprises. Mamet is a great writer and is able to create such suspenseful scenes where anything can happen. The characters are all quite mysterious which also helps keep the viewer on the edge of their seat since they truly never know what to expect along the way. The film has a superb cast which works to raise the stakes of everything since you never quite know who will do what and how things will move as the plot is always constantly in motion. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Gene Hackman mentioned in several interviews that he found shooting the film difficult and somewhat uncomfortable because he was so much older than everyone involved. He therefore kept much to himself, and in the end managed to draw on that feeling of being an outsider in the group for his portrayal. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)