Review of Thieves Like Us (1974) by Max M — 14 Feb 2009

Director Robert Altman adapts Edward Anderson's novel (previously made by Nicholas Ray as They Live By Night), along with writers Calder Willingham and Joan Tewkesbury, about three escaped convicts (played by Keith Carradine, John Schuck and Bert Remsen) on the lam and robbing banks in 1930s Mississippi.

Despite the subject matter, Altman shies away from the violence of his story (unlike similar films of the era such as Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, John Millius' Dillinger, and Roger Corman's Bloody Mama, just to name a few) and focuses on the characters and the rich period details. He also uses old period radio broadcasts to comment on the story at hand rather than using period music, a device he similarly employed in his film The Player, where the titles of movie posters commented on story points or the character's emotional state.