The Good Thief is a 2002 film starring Nutsa Kukhianidze and Nick Nolte, directed by Neil Jordan. It is a remake of a famous 1955 French film Bob le flambeur, by Jean-Pierre Melville.
The film, shot in both Monaco and Nice, France follows a heroin addict/retired thief through the setup and completion of one last job.
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Set on the scenic French Riviera, Neil Jordan's `The Good Thief' is a remake of 1955's `Bob Le Flambeur,' a Gallic film that enjoyed a successful re-release in this country a few years back. This new version is a stylish caper film about an aging master criminal who comes out of retirement to help lift some priceless paintings from a Monte Carlo casino.
In terms of plotting, there is little that we haven't seen in this type of film before. First, there's the idea for the heist, then the wooing of the reluctant `reformed' criminal, then the gathering of the other participants, then the intricate planning and rehearsing for the job, followed by the inevitable double dealing and double crosses, and ending with the sly turnabout ending to set our heads spinning and make us question everything we have seen heretofore. But Jordan has a knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and this he accomplishes with a complex screenplay, a strong sense of atmosphere, a host of well-developed characters, a sly sense of humor and an assortment of first-rate performances from a talented cast. Nick Nolte is superb as Bob, a shrewd, world-weary thief who is also a compulsive gambler and drug addict. Needless to say, the role seems tailor made for the star. Most of the rest of the cast is made up of French or Eastern European actors, all of whom do a fine job in their assorted roles.
Actually, the only complaint I have about the film is a direct result of that largely international cast. Much of the film's dialogue is hard to understand due in large part to the very thick accents emanating from most of the actors. Even the one native English speaker, Nolte, is difficult to comprehend at times, but that's just because Nolte is simply being Nolte and we expect to miss half of what he is saying anyway.
Apart from that, `The Good Thief,' less polished and slick than movies like "Ocean's Eleven," offers top-notch entertainment for the hardcore heist film aficionado.
Actually, the only complaint I have about the film is a direct result of that largely international cast. Much of the film's dialogue is hard to understand due in large part to the very thick accents emanating from most of the actors. Even the one native English speaker, Nolte, is difficult to comprehend at times, but that's just because Nolte is simply being Nolte and we expect to miss half of what he is saying anyway.
Apart from that, `The Good Thief,' less polished and slick than movies like "Ocean's Eleven," offers top-notch entertainment for the hardcore heist film aficionado.
| Nutsa Kukhianidze | .... | Anne | |
| Ouassini Embarek | .... | Said | |
| Marc Lavoine | .... | Remi | |
| Nick Nolte | .... | Bob Montagnet | |
| Tchéky Karyo | .... | Roger | |
| Gérard Darmon | .... | Raoul | |
| Saïd Taghmaoui | .... | Paulo | |
| Patricia Kell | .... | Yvonne | |
| Julien Maurel | .... | Philippe | |
| Emir Kusturica | .... | Vladimir | |
| Roland Munter | .... | Kozinski | |
| Warren Zavatta | .... | Petit Louis | |
| Théo Trifard | .... | Bill | |
| Sarah Bridges | .... | Philippa | |
| Nicolas Dromard | .... | Luigi | |