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The
Good Thief Review: Synopsis Set against the glitzy backstrip of the French Riviera and its seedy underworld, the film follows compulsive gambler Bob Montagnet (Nolte) as he draws inspiration from the man he regards as the greatest thief and copycat of all - Picasso. Under the watchful eye of Roger (Tchéky Karyo), a policeman who would as soon save his longtime opponent as arrest him, Montagnet assembles a team that consists of partners Pablo (Saïd Taghmaoui), former drug dealer Said (Ouassini Embarek), identical twins Albert and Bertram (Mark and Mike Polish) and Anne (Nutsa Kukhiaznidze), a young Eastern European girl that Montagnet rescued from prostitution. Ralph Fiennes also features in the film as a ruthless art dealer. Inspired by the Jean Pierre Melville classic Bob Le Flambeur, the film sees Montagnet plan the heist of his life - the theft of a priceless art collection from the world-class Casino Riviera in Monte Carlo. Critique In Neil Jordan's The Good Thief, we follow a talented ensemble cast as they plan (and attempt to execute) a slick casino heist in Monte-Carlo. However, despite the vaguely similar premise, this is not simply a European version of Ocean's Eleven. Nick Nolte stars as Bob Montagnet, a veteran gambler with plenty of vices and a smart mouth. Bob puts together a team of familiar accomplices in his daring venture to steal a priceless art collection from the glitzy Casino Riviera. The tale wastes little time in getting started, offering energetic action in the very first scene to establish the coming mood for audiences. The significant number of characters are more than diverse on the surface, but perhaps only a handful are earmarked for complex exploration. Nolte's Montagnet is, naturally, the most intriguing entity - his relationships with Roger (Tchéky Karyo) and Anne (Nutsa Kukhiaznidze), perhaps make for the most interesting interactions in the film. Roger, for example, shares an admiration for Bob, despite being a policeman and having put the criminal behind bars on a number of occasions. The heist itself is very unconventional, leaving the story with a satisfying conclusion that refuses to follow tired conventions. However, very little else of the plot can be disclosed without ruining the 100 minute journey. Director Neil Jordan gives the film a very warm look with plenty of colour manipulations to introduce a glamourous, stylish mood. The European cast work well together, with the likes of Saïd Taghmaoui and relative newcomer Nutsa Kukhianidze fitting very comfortably into their roles. Additionally, watch out for an amusing cameo by Ralph Fiennes, who turns up in the film on more than one occasion as a shady art dealer. Nolte himself is superb as the compulsive gambler with a gentle heart, turning in a memorable performance in the leading role. Overall, The Good Thief may not be outstanding in either its heist aspect or character development, but, unlike many other films, it mixes the two very competently to ensuring an entertaining ride from start to finish. 7 out of 10 The Video Presented in anamorphic widescreen, the film makes a solid transition to the DVD format. The warm cinematography is kept intact by vivid colour reproduction, while sharpness and brightness levels are also pleasing. There is no major print damage, although one or two white specks do crop up at very infrequent intervals - whilst this is not a notable problem, the video transfer of such a recent film should have really not been flawed in this manner at all. Black levels are balanced and consistent, which is a tremendous advantage to the disc given the film's many night sequences, and there are no problems with aliasing, grain or noise either. Hence, this is good all-round transfer that does justice to the stylish cinematography. 8 out of 10 The Audio The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack starts off well with powerful reproduction of music from all channels during the film's opening sequence. However, usage of the rear channels is never as effective after this point, with the surround speakers becoming mainly reserved for very mild ambience and some gentle score. As a result, the track can be readily classified as a front-biased stream. Channel separation is adequate at both the front and rear, but never very impressive, while the Low Frequency Effects (LFE) subwoofer channel remains expectedly quiet for the most part. On a sidenote, viewers should be prepared for some very unnnatural and jarring looping in many scenes. Overall, however, the 5.1 soundtrack is good enough for the job at hand, but not dazzling in any department. 7 out of 10 The Extras Sadly, neither the quantity nor quality of the extras on this disc is outstanding. The extras kick off with an audio commentary by Director Neil Jordan, which is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. This track is fairly good, with Jordan's quiet voice steadily revealing pieces of production triva as the film progresses. However, some people may find the track a little too dry for their tastes. Including more people on this track and/or including actual additional commentaries would have been a particularly effective method of upgrading the bonus material. Overall, Jordan's track is worth a listen for fans and undoubtedly the highlight of the supplements. Up next is the 'To Film A Thief: The Making Of The Good Thief' featurette, which clocks in at a disappointing 6 minutes in 1.33:1 full-frame and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Some interview footage with Neil Jordan, Nick Nolte and Nutsa Kukhianidze is on offer, but the discussion of the characters and plot can barely scratch the surface given the limited running length of the item. Therefore, this is essentially a forgettable featurette that puts forward negligible substance. The extras continue with 7 deleted scenes with optional audio comentary by Director Neil Jordan. These cut sequences total up to 4 minutes of additional viewing and are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound - there is no facility to play all of the scenes sequentially. With an average running length of under half a minute, none of these cut clips are particulary interesting or impactful on the plot. Jordan's commentary may help to place the scenes into context but, on the whole, this is another empty entry on the extras listing. The only other bonus material item on this single-disc title is the film's theatrical trailer, which is 2 minutes long and presented in non-anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. On a final note, the menu screens are animated and included with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo background sound. Overall, this is a pretty poor selection of extras, with only the audio commentary by Director Neil Jordan proving to be of any interest whatsoever. The remainder of the material is far too brief to be of any value, which will inevitably disappoint those fans of the film. 4 out of 10 RATINGS SUMMARY Movie
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