I went into this having only seen Heat but also being aware of the critical acclaim this film has received. From its generally high ratings on all platforms to references like the one in Ryan Coogler’s Criterion Closet episode. So, it’s safe to say expectations were high. Unfortunately, they weren’t met. I understand critique through comparison can be extremely reductive, but I felt at almost every step Heat far excels Thief.
Visually, the movie is extremely enjoyable, but I found that shots would linger slightly too long, which when aggregated across the film resulted in about 30 minutes of extra runtime. I had heard about the wet downs and the lighting of the scenes filmed through the streets of Chicago, and they were impressive, but I couldn’t help feel the pacing drag as a result of the excessive establishing shots.
The villain’s turn resulted in an excellent scene, and I enjoyed Caan and Prosky’s relationship throughout the film. But despite this being one of the heights of the film, it then proceeds to butcher the weight of the turn with an anticlimactic ending sequence. It feels the film spends an hour and a half establishing an antagonist just to give him a minute-long final fight scene. I did really enjoy the scene itself, the period of silence creates a brilliant moment of suspense which I expected the film to utilize more. In the end, Caan just walks in and shoots Prosky, then walks out of the house for a brief and poorly choreographed shootout before walking into the street.
Another favourite scene of mine was the cafe scene between the lead and his love interest, but once again this scene was spoiled by a bizarre ending. Caan is trying to convince Tuesday Weld’s character that she is the final piece for his retirement plan and asks her to spend the rest of their lives together. It seems Weld is as shocked as the viewer with this proposal, as the film doesn’t seem to justify the magnitude of the relationship. At first she protests, and Caan manages to convince her by the end of the scene by essentially just saying “Come ooooonnnnnnn!!!!” repeatedly. Then throughout the film, it seems to give her character no agency, as Caan repeatedly embarrasses her (like in the adoption scene), but she remains loyal to his side for reasons that I certainly can’t comprehend.
The best films can find a way to make the most evil of lead characters endearing in one way or another, but this film failed to make me want to root for Caan. The heists are visually enjoyable but excessively long, as is much of the cinematography. The soundtrack is distinct and captivating but repetitive at times, as these seismic electric guitars and synths seem to strike at the most mundane of moments, and the relationships are interesting but unearned. This film has the bones of a classic but is rough around almost all of its edges. However, it is easy to see that 14 years later, Mann would go on to create one of the greatest films of all time.
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