Review of Heist (2001) by Terence P — 14 Oct 2013

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman): Why doesn't he shoot me?

Fran Moore (Rebecca Pidgeon): That's the deal.

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman): He ain't gonna shoot me?

Fran Moore (Rebecca Pidgeon): No.

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman): Then he hadn't ought to point a gun at me. It's insincere.

I do love a good heist film and with Gene Hackman on the helm you know you're in for a treat. Hackman, of course, did a marvelous job- always cool, calm and collected, he was the perfect idea man. The rest of the cast did a superb job: Danny DeVito (Bergman) was an interesting villain and of course the ubber talented Sam Rockwell (Jimmy Silk) who can play any part- villain or hero, with the same convincing appeal. Rebecca Pidgeon (who plays Fran) was understatedly sizzling and Delroy Lindo (Bobby) was an awesome right-hand man, but my absolute favorite in the film was Ricky Jay's Don "Pinky" Pincus, he was so clever and adorable (for a criminal)... and it was a shame about what happened to Pinky. I liked the back and forth of the double, double, double cross but what I didn't like was the ambiguity of the ending: did Joe smile because he pulled a fast one or because Fran was on one last con and they were going to meet up in the end? I'm thinking both or the latter but in any case, this was a fun and entertaining caper flick. Worthy of a repeat viewing because it was just that darn entertaining.