The Good Thief

I thought this film was truly amazing for a first time director (Herwig) and screenwriter (Iasiello). I went to the premiere at Doyleston and thought the film exuded a very non-Hollywood type of narrative that hasn't been seen since the early days of such directors as John Ford and Howard Hawks. It was both moving and thoughtful,

The main writer (Iasiello) created such true-to-life blue collar characters that struggle for everyday existence in the underbelly of a city. The acting was superb as well, another rarity in first time films.

Overall, I recommend anyone who likes movies whose stories and characters are the focal point of the film, rather than explosions and CGI.

R.T. Herwig's THE GOOD THIEF was a thought-provoking, visually rich film, which artfully deals with questions of quilt and forgiveness. It was a haunting and very atmospheric piece of cinema, where the darkness not only ruled the streets, but also in the hearts of the people living within the shadows. It was a terrifically well-crafted film that features excellent performances by its cast, a very effective score and beautiful cinematography.

RT Herwig's THE GOOD THIEF is a stunning testament to independent filmmaking. RT handles the daunting task of brining a dark, moody morality tale to an audience, and he delivers. In an assured, well-crafted manner his directorial debut shows that he is a storyteller with a firm grasp on his work, even more telling is that he co-wrote, edited and produced the piece. I'm so sure he will continue to make films for many years to come, and I don't doubt that they will continue to challenge him, and that he will meet the task, to a film going audiences delight.

Christopher Kadish holds a likeable screen presence as the lead character Christopher Doogan. he carries the audience with him by his somber understated performance. Kadish holds the charisma and the sometimes appearance of a young Robert DeNiro. But that said, there is much originality to his acting. His career I suspect is just starting to take off to the next level.. This is breakthrough stuff for Kadish. He was great. He turns in a brooding performance, the kind that great indie's are known for. His moral dilemma, to go straight or succumb to his past, pulls him apart inside, and Kadish bleeds out these emotions carefully, never giving in to the temptation to overplay his hand.

Lisbeth Bartlett portrays the semi-destroyed matriarch of a collapsing family with an intense performance. I read online that she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress nod at The Method Fest in LA for this performance. Clearly she has had her share of roles and knows how to tap into territory of tragedy. Throughout the film she holds the most sympathy from the audience, even while her ineffectiveness earns our frustration, it's her weakness that we most relate to. She drives the story forward and provides the back-story with her strong performance as a clueless, unloving mother who thinks as all bad mothers do, that she has done her best for her child.

I just loved this film. RT used darkness, mood and music to create the world of Doogan (Kadish). The film broods over his dilemma, and allows the audience to invest in his future. The camera lingers over the many strong dramatic performances, allowing all to do their best work. Much of the movie is lit from above and has a tilted camera angle. The sharp contrasts become metaphor for the manic highs and lows of the world they inhabit. It's a strong film, a true indie film. Give the film a chance to grow on you.

Director RT Herwig is a filmmaker that will be heard from again and again. I'm so glad I found his work.

RT guides this story along smoothly, never allowing the threads of the storyline to come unravel. RT brings out the details of his characters through the actors, his camera and the use of light, in a seamless manner that is fascinating to

behold. This I guess if what they call the Herwiglian style. I myself was mesmerized by his camera work and the film's mood and applaud RT's courageous choices while maintaining accessibility. Give it a shot.

RT Herwig's The Good Thief is highly recommended. RT is my new favorite upcoming director. You should really look into his work and career.

C.P.

I worked on "The Good Thief" as a Production Assistant, which meant I got to yell out, "Rolling! Quiet please!" in some of Philadelphia's finest neighborhoods. I saw the movie last week, and let me tell you, standing outside a crack house at 2am was worth it. RT Herwig's debut was made for under $700,000, and throughout the course of the movie, it becomes obvious that they got the most out of every penny. The film looks nicer than most movies made for millions and millions of dollars. "The Good Thief" is a story about an honorable man returning home from prison and trying to reconcile his past with his future. Namely, he wants to provide for his daughter who doesn't know he's alive but doesn't want to return to crime to do so. Rather than tell a straightforward story, Herwig lays on some trippy spirituality to mix things up. There's a lot of smoke in this movie, (hence my subject line) and that's just one of the visual metaphors Herwig uses to demonstrate the protagonist's mental state. More often than not, this doesn't look like a cheaply-made movie. The film is beautifully shot, and you can tell a lot of care went into making each frame look wonderful. Some of the acting falls flat, and some scenes drag on, but there is enough strength in other scenes to redeem the film. Herwig throws in some neat clues here and there, and the soundtrack is very cool. It will be nice to see what Herwig can do with a larger budget. He's obviously a very talented filmmaker with a bright future ahead of him. People spend a lot of money on making really crappy movies. "The Good Thief" didn't cost a lot of money, and is not a really crappy movie. It's actually pretty good, and well worth checking out. Just watch out for all the smoke.

Christopher Doogan is dressed nicely, walking along a street in a marginal neighborhood at night in the fog. He passes a street preacher, and later goes into a church. Later he goes into a somewhat sleazy-looking bar where people are surprised to see him. Like the fog we see outside, we're not at all clear on what is going on in the early minutes of this film.

I saw this at the Camera Cinema Club in Silicon Valley, CA on 10/20/2002. The director, R.T. Herwig, was there to answer questions afterwards. He said that the film is an "emotional tone poem," and that making an understandable narrative was not his main focus. That's good, because the film was often fuzzy.

But despite the fact that the story is apparently not very important, you might still want to know about it. If you don't, you should *skip* the rest of this paragraph... Christopher has just been released from prison were he has been for a few years for his part in a robbery of some sort. Christopher loyally took the fall for a man named Banion and the rest of his gang, but Christopher isn't sure he wants back into a life of crime. He goes home, where his parents and grandmother live, and is welcomed except for by his retired-firefighter father. And later in the film, we learn, not surprisingly, that Banion has plans to use Christopher for at least one more job.

The film was shot on Super 16 and blown up to 35mm. Despite some people saying that it looked good, I thought it looked very grainy, especially in darker scenes like the church. It was shot in 14 days, and the finished film feels like it drags on nearly that long - it really needs some significant trimming. The performances by the unknown cast vary from marginal to good, but even the better actors are sometimes given very stilted lines to read. And the lead actor is way too short to plausibly be the child of the actors who play his parents.

On the positive side, the direction is more interesting than most mainstream films, probably because the director sincerely seems not to care if this film makes money or not. The camera angles are tilted more often than they are straight, which effectively conveys the subjectivity of the main character's mind, while possibly also keeping the audience more detached (one audience member's reaction). The film is made up almost entirely of long shots, both in terms of camera distance and the time between edits (one memorable shot is of a dinner, shot through the spindles of a railing, with two spindles visually keeping the three diners separate, and all done in one very long take).

I would probably give the film a slightly lower rating than I have, except that the director was very entertaining, despite his obvious discomfort at being in front of a crowd. He says he was depressed when he made the film, and it shows. He repeatedly brought up "Charlie's Angels" and Jackie Chan films, more or less saying that since his film is more original than those (which were popular), it must be good. He sited John Ford as his biggest influence, and "The Informer" as the film closest to what he was trying to make here.

I would recommend this film if the director will be there to answer questions afterwards, such as at a film festival. Frankly, I would be surprised if this film ever sees a normal distribution, but if it is (and the director is back home in the Philadelphia area), I would marginally recommend *against* seeing it.

I really want thank you all for the great conversation you've all added here on IMDb regarding my film. That's really what this is all about. The sharing of ideas and opinions, etc. Kudos to you all. When I had set out to make this film I made it with the hopes that there would be one thing each person watching it could take away from it. Good, bad, or indifferent. To me that's art. That's what film-making is all about. It's not about pleasing everyone at all times. It's about experimenting and learning. That's what makes directing so exciting. That said, I will take what I learned on this film and add it to my next one. Progressing each time. Hoping you all will stick around for the ride. All the best. - RT