David Mamet is a master at wordplay. He's also a master at writing intelligent scripts with so many twists that they generally keep the viewer guessing up until the very end.
With \Heist,"" Mamet has again succeeded in churning out one of those pictures.
The thing is, though, that once you become familiar with Mamet's work, you begin to try to outguess him. You try to see what he's going to throw at you next. It's like in a Stephen King movie. When certain characters show up, like in ""The Green Mile,"" you figure that they must have more to do with the main plot than may initially be apparent.
Similarly, when any major interaction between characters goes on in ""Heist,"" you second-guess your first intuition to believe that things are what they seem.
""Heist"" draws the obvious comparisons to this year's ""The Score,"" as well as oldschool robbery pics with plots about a thief drawn in for one last score, one last, well, heist.
""Heist,"" like ""The Score,"" is directed not with the glitz of most new movies of today but with a subtlety that relies on performances over stylized violence.
Case in point: During most of the main robbery, no music accompanies the action. While this technique is innovative and rarely used today and yes, sets it apart from other run-of-the-mill action pics, it's doubtful that the scene wouldn't have benefited from some type of score to go along with it.
The nontraditional style does, however, allow for the actors' performances to come to the foreground and be more recognized. Gene Hackman gives a terrific performance as the aging thief in it for one last score. The intensity he portrays when he gets into confrontations with the other actors can be rivaled by few other actors today.
Aside from Hackman, the rest of the cast is made up of actors who generally play supporting roles.
Delroy Lindo, Rickie Jay and Danny DeVito play older characters thrown in the mix, and all do respectable jobs.
Up-and-coming indie star Sam Rockwell gives a solid performance alongside the older generation of actors.
The performances and sharp dialogue given to the actors carry the film past the parts that drag a bit. And while it may not be treading new territory, Mamet is still able to bring his actors to a higher level, and the audience is allowed to come right up with them.
