“Led by John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) and Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) a team is assembled for one last heist to steal $35 million in gold bars from a heavily guarded safe in Venice, Italy. After successfully pulling off the heist, a team member, Steve (Edward Norton), driven by greed and jealousy, arranges to take the gold for himself and eliminate the remaining members of the group. Thinking the team dead, he returns to L.A. with the gold. Charlie and the survivors of this betrayal follow Steve L.A. to exact revenge against the traitor. Charlie enlists the help of John Bridger’s daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron) – a professional safe cracker, to get revenge. With Stella and the hacking skills of Lyle (Seth Green), the explosives skills of “Left Ear” (Yasiin Bey), and the driving skills of “Handsome” Rob (Jason Statham) this new team plans and executes a daring heist that weaves through the freeways and subways of L.A.”
Full Synopsis: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317740/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl
General Thoughts
Overall, this was a fun movie to watch. Mark (pronounced “Mahk”) Wahlberg is excellent in his role as Charlie and the crew he assembles around him complements the desired tone of the movie. I didn’t leave this movie pondering any deep questions about life, nor did I feel any true emotional connections to characters in the movie. However, this movie was excellent for the sheer reason that it entertains and sucks the audience in.
Dialogue
The screenwriters for this movie, Donna and Wayne Powers, kept the tone brisk throughout. Most conversations were to the point, refraining from unnecessary dialogue unless it was for a humorous purposes. Oftentimes, pertinent information would be communicated to the rest of the crew (and the audience) through a humorous manner. For example:
Left Ear: [observing the front gate to Steve’s house. He sees guard dogs] Shit.
[Speaks into his wire]
Left Ear: This dude got dogs. I don’t do dogs… I had a real bad experience, man.
Charlie Croker: [from their Netcom Cable van] What happened?
Left Ear: I had. A bad. Experience. Damn it. “I’m” deaf!
A majority of the time, the humor is either based upon sarcasm or irony. This method of humor conveys to the audience the intelligence of the crew, and at times, their professionalism. Slapstick humor would just degrade the characters’ images of being competent at what they do.
The rhythm of the dialogue is also quick. The briskness of the dialogue keeps the plot of the movie moving, allowing the plot to unfold rather rapidly. It also adds to the sense of urgency that the crew is feeling. The entire heist is planned down to the second at some points and the short dialogue adds to the overall urgent feeling of the film.
Narrative Form
This film is classified as an Action/Crime/Thriller and has classic elements of all three. There is the stereotypical good guy vs bad guy conflict, the desire for the revenge, and the part where the hero gets the girl. In addition, the protagonist, a criminal, is seen as a “good guy”. He is shown this way because (ignoring the fact that he might actually be a good person) he is the one who the audience is supposed to identify with. For this reason he is painted in a positive light the entire movie. Foe example, he stresses several times that “This isn’t about the gold”. The antagonist, Steve, is constantly shown as a mean, heartless, and just an all-around bad person. This is vastly different from the beginning of the movie where both Steve and Charlie were on the same team. And at the end of the day, they’re both thieves, people who society is supposed shame and hate. However, because of the “heart-warming” love story and the motive of revenge, the audience identifies with Charlie’s character.
In addition to the classic main character, the crew that accompanies Charlie is filled with several stereotypical characters. For example, Lyle, plays the stereotypical nerd character. He’s a genius when it comes to computers and math but every time a social interaction occurs, especially those involving women, he is portrayed as a bumbling ball of foolishness. You also have the mentor who conveniently gets killed, which sets the whole plan in motion.
Finally, this film does not push the boundaries of narrative form. It has several characteristics of Classic Hollywood cinema, including a strong degree of closure and multiple obstacles. There were several points in which it looked like the team would be stumped but they were able to work together to get around them. One unique characteristic about the heist genre is the way the heist unfolds. While the audience is privy to the planning and set-up phase of the heist, we never really know what is going to happen. The audience only knows what the “bad guys” know at many points during the heist. However, as shown through editing, there are ways in which certain aspects of the heist are highlighted.
Editing
A common way to advance time in this film is through elliptical editing. When preparing for the heist (fixing up the cars, getting the equipment ready, etc.) many times a shot lasting several seconds will focus on what one member is doing. Then, it will skip to another member. After showcasing everything that is going on, it will return to the character it began with and show the progress that he/she has made in an unknown amount of time. It’s as if several montages were going on at once, just interwoven with each other.
In addition, the character introductions are done in a rather unique way. While the audience catches a glimpse of each of the members of the crew in Venice, proper introductions are not made until Charlie introduces Stella to each of the crew members. This is done through a brief flashback to a scene that defines each character. This is effective because it shows how each one of these people are different individuals but yet they all come together seamlessly.
Finally, as mentioned before, the pace of the dialogue is supposed to be quick. The editing during the conversation scenes help showcase this briskness and add to the general feeling of urgency. Instead of a long cut, showing both characters in the same frame talking to each other. the cuts are short. Each one showcases the person who is talking and then moves on. This provides for a steady, quick rhythm.
Sound
During many of the action sequences, the music is amplified along with the sound effects. Generally the tools of the trade are heard above all else. Whenever a drill or car is being used, that sound is the “star”. This is so the audience is focused on that object and what that object is doing. However, what stuck out the most to me was the soundtrack choice. Whenever there was work to be done or if the heist was heating up, the music became intense and driving. During these sequences, there was often a lack of dialogue. The music’s rhythm mirrors the rhythm of the dialogue (short and quick). This is so that there is always something driving the rhythm and pace of the movie during parts in which the audience is supposed to feel on edge.
All quotes and summaries are from IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317740/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Heist Movie Reviews 