You don't hear "Thief" mentioned as often as Michael Mann's other signature movies, but I have a serious soft spot for this movie. For a debut, this has the man's unmistakable style all over it, and the character study at the heart of this thing keeps the burglar-pulling-one-last-job story fresh. There's a tremendous amount of research backing this, not only making the actual safe-cracking scenes riveting, but also James Caan's expounding on prison life. It's just a dialogue scene, two people in a coffee shop, but it's earnest. He's desperate to make a life happen before the clock runs out.
It's compelling cinema all the way, a neon-lit crime drama on the seedier streets of Chicago, pulsing with Tangerine Dream synth. For my money, this is James Caan's best performance; hard-boiled and profoundly sad.
8/10
It's compelling cinema all the way, a neon-lit crime drama on the seedier streets of Chicago, pulsing with Tangerine Dream synth. For my money, this is James Caan's best performance; hard-boiled and profoundly sad.
8/10