The Score


Starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett, Marlon Brando. Directed by Frank Oz.

Nicky Wells (De Niro) owns a classy, thriving jazz club in Montreal. He's also been a professional safe-cracker for the past 25 years. After his last job in which he was almost caught, Nick wants to retire, and settle down with his stewardess girlfriend (Bassett) in elegant, old-world Montreal. But his partner and mentor Max (Brando) has one more score in mind that will make them both rich - a priceless artifact locked away in the basement of the Montreal Customs House. Nicky only has two rules - never rob in the city where he lives and always work alone. This job would require him to break both. So Nicky declines the opportunity.

Max has already put a guy Brian (Norton) on the inside to case the place, acting as a mentally deficient assistant custodian. Brian meets Nicky on the street to try to persuade Nicky, but it only angers him. But eventually, Max convinces him with a sweetened offer and the chance to run the job his way. Brian and Nicky meticulously plan the job and check the site out. As the job date arrives, things don't go exactly as planned. And neither does the job itself.

There is nothing particularly new or inventive about The Score. The veteran thief coming back for just one last big score has been done before. But the film's emphasis on character, dialogue and story goes a long way in giving it a fresher feel than you'd expect. Montreal is featured prominently in the film, almost a character in itself, a nice change from the usual disguise as a generic American city. The movie progresses in a low-key manner - there are no car chases, no barroom brawls, virtually no violence at all. There is very little macho posturing or tough guy stuff. Nobody is super-cool, nobody is superhuman - just professionally prepared men who are good at what they do and interested in a job well done. The film takes it's time and shows in detail how the boys plan to perform the heist. We even get a feel for the lives the men lead outside of the job. The film shows, without a lot of fast cuts, exactly how the heist is being executed and there is a very real chance the thieves will get caught. As a result, the movie feels a lot more believable and plausible than many in this genre.

Norton gets another opportunity to showcase an offbeat character in displaying the mentally challenged Brian along side the brash, talented thief. Bassett is not given nearly enough to do (she plays the girlfriend role) but she makes the most of her brief role, and if I may say so, looks good doing it. Brando oozes slimy charm, trying to convince Nick to do what Nick knows he shouldn't, and displays a self-loathing character unhappy with his much of his life. He's a lot of fun to watch, especially during the interplay between him and De Niro. De Niro has evolved into playing more low-key, less showy characters in the past few years - Wag The Dog and Jackie Brown come to mind - and he is very good at it, making Nick a complete human being whose motivations and aspirations we begin to understand. An added bonus is the infusion of low-key humour into the mix. Possibly the most enjoyable aspect of the movie is watching four excellent actors do good work.

I have little interest in seeing unreal, juiced-up, flashy action flicks like Swordfish or Kiss Of The Dragon. I prefer less action and more movie, and that is what The Score delivers.




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