People in the audience were clapping and laughing out loud when I saw it. The film is smart and incredibly fun to look at with stylish freeze-frames, fluid camera, beautifully colorful images. The soundtrack is terrific as well--reflects the multi-national cast and setting.

One caveat: I did have to see the film twice to understand all the dialogue which is delivered in throw-away fashion by the mostly European cast; however, second viewing allowed me to appreciate how cleverly the plot and characters are constructed. As another reviewer mentioned, all character development has some important pay-off (while also delivering imaginative portraits from this melting-pot Mediterranean underworld). This isn't McGyver--really the point of this heist movie isn't the mechanics of how the caper goes down, but the enjoyable characters who you follow through the story.

Highly recommended!


Nolte le Flambeur   April 11, 2003
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Neil Jordan is a master storyteller and filmmaker and also the director of the new Nick Nolte film, "The Good Thief." Nolte plays Bob Montagnet (montaigne): a beat up, past his prime, drug addled, seemingly out of it, former big time thief faced with the prospect and challenge of his final, once in a lifetime heist.
Nick Nolte, craggy-faced, whiskey voiced and dripping with charisma plays Bob like it is his final performance ever: his every word is delivered with deathbed earnestness... voluptuous with meaning.
Bob is a man who has come to the realization that his days as a thief and a romancer of women have just about come to an end. And because of this, when he is offered a chance in a lifetime to plan and execute the ultimate heist, he grasps at it with every fiber of his being for he knows there will be no more chances to make his mark .He is a man possessed with self-knowledge enough to know that this is his final chance to collect enough money to live out his days in luxury. Bob Montagnet could not, would not ever live without the finer things in life.
"The Good Thief" was shot in the south of France and in Monte Carlo by Michael Balhaus in gorgeous jewel tones to reflect the luxury of the world in which Bob revolves.
If there is a fault in this film it is in the re-dubbing: the voices do not always blend with the milieu in which they were shot.
"The Good Thief" is a thoughtful portrait of a man at the end of his career who must decide between fading into the sunset with a whimper or going out with a bang; even though that final bang might cost him his life.
As he showed in "The Crying Game" and "End of the Affair," Neil Jordan has an affinity for the disenfranchised, the disaffected, the outcasts of the world. And once again in "The Good Thief" he shows that he can relate and empathize with those who can only survive if they live on the fringes: steadfastly adhering to a code of ethics that they alone can explain and which most of us would be hard pressed to uphold or adhere to.


DON'T MISS THIS FILM!   April 14, 2003
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

Set in the beautiful and panoramic hills of the South of France, THE GOOD THIEF is an intriguing remake of the 1955 French film noir classic BOB LE FLAMBEUR. Bob Montagnet (Nick Nolte), a gambler and drug addict down on his luck and fortune, assembles a crew to pull off a casino heist while deceiving the French police, in particular Roger (Tcheky Keryo) who has been given a tip of Montagnet's plans. Seeking refuge from her pimp, Anne (Nutsa Kukhianidze) helps Montagnet get clean while simultaneously trying to seduce him with her stunning body and youthful charm. In THE GOOD THIEF Nolte delivers an impressive performance that makes one believe that he remains true to his form. The viewer trusts his characterization of a strung-out gambler and his pain is well detailed across his persona. To top it off, Nolte throws in some laughs and is creative in his interactions with Roger, the member of the French police who is insistently following him. The cinematography is original and inventive as end of scenes are frequently met with a freeze of the last frame. It's jolting but at the same time it peaks interest in the film. Scenes of backroom gambling in addition to the utilization of primary, bold colors throughout this film creates an effective portrayal of the underbelly of this often-cited glamorous geographical location of Europe. Overall, THE GOOD THIEF is a bold and original film that rightly deserves recent critical acclaim. I fully recommend this film.


A smart and sexy heist film   April 20, 2003
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

A remake of Jean Pierre Melville's Bob Le Flambeur, The Good Thief tells the tale of Bob Montagnet, a gambling as well as a heroin addict who is down in his luck. As an avid art lover, he recently discover that the new owner of the Monte Carlo at the French Riviera has a sizeable collection of priceless pieces, and is determine to pull that one spectacular job in which no one else can rival. Assembling the right group of people and concocting a plan within a plan, the line between truths and lies becomes increasingly blurry as Bob attempts to outwit the pesky policeman following his every movement. Will fortune smiles down on him, or will he be dealt another loser hand?

Bob is a skilled thief and a master storyteller, from how his parents first met to the accounts of his own life, no two versions are ever the same. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but Nick Nolte's portrayal of Bob appears to be almost effortless. The man's struggle with a drug habit, the desolated look and his stubborn refusal to be beaten. Nolte was able to relate all of these feelings on the screen convincingly. Tcheky Karyo plays his nemesis Roger, a French cop who is both a friend, as well as an enemy due to their occupational differences. Their cat and mouse relationship provided many of the humorous moments in the movie. Newcomer Nutsa Kukhianidze held her own opposite of Nolte as the seductive prostitute Anne. Her acting is subtle, confident, and likeable. Definitely someone to keep an eye out for in the future. The rest of the cast is made up of Said Taghmaoui as Paulo and Gerard Darmon as Raoul, Bob's good friends and associates in the business.

Rather than falling back on flashy action or dramatic car chases to tell the story, award-winning director Neil Jordan chose to concentrate on having his characters do all the work for him. The Good Thief is a rare instance where the development of these roles take precedence, and the picture benefits greatly because of it. The finely woven plot consists of numerous twists and turns common to caper films; fortunately, they are kept fresh by the smart writing along with the solid acting all around. You may not be able to follow everything that is going on, but you can be sure that there isn't a dull moment. Cinematography by Chris Menges is stunning. The contrast between the glamorous Riviera and the squalid but exotic underworld is remarkable.

Sexy and stylish, The Good Thief is one of the best heist films I have seen in years. Nick Nolte delivers an outstanding performance in a part that seems to be tailored especially for him. An intriguing and an unpredictable plot, the witty dialogues, combined with a strong focus on the lead characters made this an immensely enjoyable experience. Admittedly the movie was hard for me to get into at first, but once you were drawn in, it does not let you go until the very last scene. While The Good Thief does not have the same star power as the highly successful Ocean's Eleven, don't let that stop you from checking it out.


Nick Nolte Gives A Five Star Performance   May 20, 2003
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is an enjoyable heist film where the character development is the central element rather than the heist itself. If you want nonstop action and complicated plots, watch one of the big budget spectaculars with the marquee names; if you want a well told story then you should enjoy this movie. I highly recommend the initial Amazon reviews (posted in April) as accurately capturing the essence of this film: thus I will not repeat their detail here but strongly suggest that you read a few of them in order to understand the nature of this cinematic endeavor.

Nick Nolte is Bob, a burned out heroin addict and former master thief who is recruited to mastermind a Monte Carlo casino heist. Tchecky Karo is Roger, a policeman who is his nemesis and is convinced that there is something being plotted. Nick's sidekick Paolo and a Bosnian prostitute named Anne who is befriended by Nick are the other main characters in a very engaging cast with several of the minor parts adding enjoyable twists to the story. There is the usual misdirection, just the right mix of humorous interludes and enough plot developments to keep the viewer's interest despite the slow pace of the story. The cinematography is excellent and definitely helps the story feel authentic.

My only major reservation is mentioned in jupitergirl's review but deserves emphasis. Both my wife and I found that the dialogue was often hard to understand, especially early in the film until we became accustomed to the accents, inflections, and cadences of the various actors (most of whom with the exception of Nolte were European and unfamiliar to us). In fact our unfamiliarity with the actors also meant that it took us a while to sort out the characters and their roles since they were introduced casually throughout the early part of the film.

This is a well constructed and enjoyable movie, but given the slow pace at which it proceeds you should plan to see it when you just want to relax and see a story gradually unfold. The conclusion is really wonderful, both for its cleverness and sense of irony; it nicely tied together all the storylines. The caper was fun; the film was a pleasurable experience