I came across this movie because of my boyfriend, he swore that this ending was one of the best endings in a movie he had ever seen. But being the ultimate film buff and being a fan of James Caan, I wanted to see the whole movie, so we watched it together. This is a tight and suspenseful thriller that is like a little gem of 1981. James Caan is such a terrific actor, so I was interested in seeing him in a lead role to see if he could carry a movie by himself and he did do an excellent job. Michael Mann, this is one of his first movies, so it's really cool to see where he has come from and even back in 1981, he had this definite talent that has taken him so far. The story may be a bit basic, the rise and fall of someone who has hit the top, but once they want to pull away, it starts to crumble. But if told in the right way, we can get a terrific film and Thief proves itself to be a good thriller.
Frank is an expert jewel thief and hard-boiled ex-convict with a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses as fronts for his very lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his dream: a family beginning with Jessie. After taking down a major score, Frank's fence is murdered. He finds out that the man responsible is a Mr. Attaglia, a shady plating company executive for whom the fence was working. Attaglia is in possession of money that belongs to Frank, who demands it back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia's employer, Leo, a high-level fence and crime boss, who wants Frank to work for him, offering him "boxcar" profits. Frank is reluctant at first, but wanting to make his dream come to fruition faster, he agrees to do just one job. But after the job is done, Frank soon realizes that Leo is not so easy to let him go.
The only complaint is pretty minor, I was a little stumped by the movie's soundtrack, it did throw me off a bit. But I think that's all part of the 80's films genre, very odd music in the background. It's all good, we have a terrific supporting cast with Robert Prosky, James Belushi and Tuesday Weld, even Willie Nelson pulls in a good strong supporting role. The whole atmosphere and the strong direction by Mann pulls this movie together very well. I'd say one of the strongest scenes is the face off between Frank and Leo, when Frank is excited that he's completed his last assignment and Frank wants to just mainstream into a normal life but Leo is not going to let him go, the tension was so high and created so well by the actors. It's a very dark and suspenseful film that I have to admit that I enjoyed over all, I would recommend it.
9/10
Frank is an expert jewel thief and hard-boiled ex-convict with a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses as fronts for his very lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his dream: a family beginning with Jessie. After taking down a major score, Frank's fence is murdered. He finds out that the man responsible is a Mr. Attaglia, a shady plating company executive for whom the fence was working. Attaglia is in possession of money that belongs to Frank, who demands it back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia's employer, Leo, a high-level fence and crime boss, who wants Frank to work for him, offering him "boxcar" profits. Frank is reluctant at first, but wanting to make his dream come to fruition faster, he agrees to do just one job. But after the job is done, Frank soon realizes that Leo is not so easy to let him go.
The only complaint is pretty minor, I was a little stumped by the movie's soundtrack, it did throw me off a bit. But I think that's all part of the 80's films genre, very odd music in the background. It's all good, we have a terrific supporting cast with Robert Prosky, James Belushi and Tuesday Weld, even Willie Nelson pulls in a good strong supporting role. The whole atmosphere and the strong direction by Mann pulls this movie together very well. I'd say one of the strongest scenes is the face off between Frank and Leo, when Frank is excited that he's completed his last assignment and Frank wants to just mainstream into a normal life but Leo is not going to let him go, the tension was so high and created so well by the actors. It's a very dark and suspenseful film that I have to admit that I enjoyed over all, I would recommend it.
9/10