L'homme de la Riviera

There isn't much one can, or for that matter should say about Neil Jordan's "The Good Thief". Fun and stylish heist movie that drags a bit in the middle but gets back on track by the end. Along for the ride with a weathered thief/drug addict/bon vivant named Bob (Nick Nolte) is a motley crew of characters with varying degrees of fashionable zaniness. The most notable of the lot might be transsexual Philippa (Sarah Bridges) and security-systems expert Vladimir from Vladivostok (played by another raconteur European director Emir Kusturica).

Dialogue, though, sounds like it was written by a teenage comic book artist in a foreign palaver and then translated into English. The fact that most of the actors don't list the language of the British as their mother tongue isn't helping either, especially when the details of a complicated robbery are being discussed. However, this all fits comfortably enough in the overall ambiance of the movie. Choice of music is excellent, enhancing the experience greatly. It was nice to see the REAL south of France with its strong Algerian influences instead of just the usual white bred high society crowd most people associate with Monte Carlo and Nice. In addition to Algeria, we also get some Russia, Bosnia, England..

P.S.: Young actress from Georgia Nutsa Kukhanidze is another bright spot managing for her vulnerable character Anne to also come off very sexy, chic and even debonnaire. Through her confident performance she really sells us on the notion of these hardened 'old' men being infatuated with a 17-year-old crack whore from Bosnia. And they say movies sugarcoat reality... :)

Set on the scenic French Riviera, Neil Jordan's `The Good Thief' is a remake of 1955's `Bob Le Flambeur,' a Gallic film that enjoyed a successful re-release in this country a few years back. This new version is a stylish caper film about an aging master criminal who comes out of retirement to help lift some priceless paintings from a Monte Carlo casino.

In terms of plotting, there is little that we haven't seen in this type of film before. First, there's the idea for the heist, then the wooing of the reluctant `reformed' criminal, then the gathering of the other participants, then the intricate planning and rehearsing for the job, followed by the inevitable double dealing and double crosses, and ending with the sly turnabout ending to set our heads spinning and make us question everything we have seen heretofore. But Jordan has a knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and this he accomplishes with a complex screenplay, a strong sense of atmosphere, a host of well-developed characters, a sly sense of humor and an assortment of first-rate performances from a talented cast. Nick Nolte is superb as Bob, a shrewd, world-weary thief who is also a compulsive gambler and drug addict. Needless to say, the role seems tailor made for the star. Most of the rest of the cast is made up of French or Eastern European actors, all of whom do a fine job in their assorted roles.

Actually, the only complaint I have about the film is a direct result of that largely international cast. Much of the film's dialogue is hard to understand due in large part to the very thick accents emanating from most of the actors. Even the one native English speaker, Nolte, is difficult to comprehend at times, but that's just because Nolte is simply being Nolte and we expect to miss half of what he is saying anyway.

Apart from that, `The Good Thief,' less polished and slick than movies like "Ocean's Eleven," offers top-notch entertainment for the hardcore heist film aficionado.

This was a re-make of the 1955 film noir, "Bob LeFlambeur," which I also own. That was black-and-white and made in France while this is 2002 movie in color with English-speaking actors.

Usually I'll take the original over the re-make but not in this case....with one major consideration. In order to like this film, I had to play the DVD with the English subtitles on because many of the accents were just too tough to decipher and if you can't understand the dialog, it gets a bit frustrating. The story is confusing enough as it is, so, if you have a similar problem as I had, play this with the subtitles.

If there is such a thing as colorful film noir, this would be it, with many splashes of the neon nightlife of France, inside and outside.

Story-wise, if you're confused you are not alone. After two viewings, I still haven't totally figured out the twist at the end. The dialog tries to be snappy mid-40s Raymond Chandler stuff and sometimes it's great, other times it's affected. Overall, however, it 's fun. Nick Nolte delivers most of the clever lines. The young girl in here, Nutsa Kukhianidze, is intriguing new face, as was the case with Isabelle Corey in "Bob."

This movie gets a lot of negative reviews from professional critics. Don't trust them; give this a look.

Heist movies are of two kinds: those where the heist is successful and end in some sort of bliss for the robbers (on whose side the viewers always are) and those where it fails and ends up in tragedy. The heist told in this movie belongs to a third kind because in my opinion it's neither successful nor unsuccessful like you will see in the end and understand why I am saying so. Nick Nolte does an excellent job in the role of a middle aged gambler, heister and drug addict who plans a robbery of valuable pictures in a casino in the south of France despite the fact that he is being watched by the police. The heist plan is very original indeed and it is based on a fake heist on one place while the real robbery will take place on another one. The end of the movie is bit confusing while mixing luck at gambling (in a rather unbelievable and unexplained way) with the success or failure of the heist itself. Well but it's a merry movie (except for the only death that occurs there)and Nick Nolte plays his part in a wonderful way.

'The Good Thief' is the best film Neil Jordan did since 'Mona Lisa' almost two decades ago. It is a classical and well written robbery story, complex enough to catch the interest, simple enough for the spectator to follow and enjoy, and with the special twist at the end that makes a good script. The main character fits Nick Nolte like life, I can imagine only Humphrey Bogart doing better in this role. There are a few other memorable characters, with the Georgian (from the other Georgia) Nutza Kukhianidze promising to become soon a star if she has enough luck to continue to work with good directors and scripts. The cinematography has a special quality, with final stills after each shot, enhancing a good digital camera work. I also liked the soundtrack, it's a mix of classic, jazz and even Leonard Cohen sounds right for a change. 8/10 on my personal scale - certainly worth seeing.