Heist
dir. David Mamet
Warner Bros.
Heist is a Mamet movie. So forget about subtlety.
David Mamet's cinematic creations are often stylized portraits of greed, betrayal
and brinksmanship. To his devotees, Mamet has a golden touch. He writes and directs
out of a love for characters too clever to be damned, dialogue too sharp to be
missed and plot twists too fulfilling to be questioned. To his critics, he traffics in
stereotypes, ridiculous story developments and four-letter words.
Mamet's naysayers need not read on.
Heist flawlessly follows the Mamet formula. Joe (Gene Hackman), an aging thief,
serves as the film's charming rogue, desperate for money and a clean getaway.
During a nonviolent jewelry store robbery, Joe decides to calmly approach a
witness and stun-gun her rather than shoot her dead. The courtly gesture
leaves his mug exposed to the security camera. He escapes with that day's shiny
loot, but knows he will soon need a change of life and location.
And, at first, old Joe (Hackman is 72) does not seem to mind the idea of
sailing off on his beloved boat into a sandy retirement with his extremely
younger wife/accomplice (Rebecca Pidgeon). The thing is — Joe's got no money.
In the long tradition of needy, disreputable men, Joe enters into a pact
with an earthly devil. In Heist, the soul stealer is Bergman (Danny DeVito),
a grubby fence. Bergman forces Joe and his crew into a risky scheme to lift
gold bars off an airplane. To further grind his heel into Joe's neck,
Bergman insists that the pro use his nitwit nephew (Sam Rockwell) on the job.
And Joe does what a man of his standing must: he plans to double-cross the devil.
This is where the game — and the real fun — starts. It is pretty clear who is to
be the ultimate victor in the ensuing contest, but what traps will be set
along the way? Where will the bodies drop, turn up and rot? Will
annihilation come with a kiss, a cut or a kaboom? These are the mysteries of
Heist. It delivers enjoyment not by arriving but by unfolding.
The movie's leads know how to mine the visceral potential in their
lines and movements. Hackman has played the smart outlaw a hundred times
over. His voice inflections and facial expressions are perfect, if worn.
DeVito revels in being comically conniving, and he is again convincing.
Delroy Lindo, who plays Joe's premiere criminal partner, opens cans of whoop-ass
like he invented the recipe.
Mamet, of course, gives them fuel to burn. There are lines in Heist that
will float into your mind days after you've seen the film and amuse you anew.
There are shots framed with such care that they can't help but add suaveness
to whoever stands at their center. In fact, all of Heist is a showcase.
Mamet's script is so highly dramatized, it is easy to see how the movie
could turn into camp; it is also easy to see how making this movie would be
a thrill. Watching it certainly is.
— Rasheed Newson (rasheednewson@hotmail.com)
