Feature Movie Description... continued.
The Good Thief - 2002
Irish director Neil Jordan (THE CRYING GAME, MICHAEL COLLINS) and veteran actor Nick Nolte combine their talents for this breezy heist picture. Bob (Nolte) is a retired master thief and gambler living as an expatriot in France. His past robberies are the stuff of underworld legend, but he's given it all up, and fallen into a twilight life of heroin addiction and seedy gambling dens. Then a chance encounter with an attractive young runaway (Nutsa Kukhianidze) inspires him to clean up his act and take one last big job; an elaborate modern art heist at a swanky Riviera casino. Standing in his way is a cagey police inspector (Tchéky Karyo) who is determined to bring him down, even though the two are longtime friends. The twisty caper plotting compliments a fun cast (including Emir Kusturica and Gérard Darmon as two of Bob's brothers in crime), clever dialogue, stylish direction, and pretty Riviera scenery. Loosely modeled on Jean Pierre Melville's BOB LE FLAMBEUR, this is something of a pet project for Jordan and it's obvious he's invested himself into every detail of the production. The result is both elegant and warmly quirky. As for Nolte, he seems to be having a terrific time; the charming old rascal role fits him perfectly, and Kukhianidze proves his match with an aplomb beyond her years. Ralph Fiennes has a small role as a disreputable art dealer.