The Good Thief

Remaking Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur--an innovative 1955 noir film that was also a precursor of the French New Wave movement--writer-director Neil Jordan adds contemporary complexity to this stylish yet drug-hazed heist thriller in which the original picture's safecracking plot serves as a decoy for a sophisticated plan to pilfer a dozen priceless Impressionist paintings from a Monte Carlo casino--complicated even more by the fact the artworks on the walls are first-class fakes (the originals are housed in a high tech, high security vault). But more importantly, and more interestingly, there's a sad, compulsive, edge-of-the-abyss desperation to Nick Nolte's performance as the title crook, a heroin-addicted ex-filch and professional gambler who has a strung-out but cunning savoir faire. Jordan's characters are so vividly realized and multi-dimensional that it's easy to become wrapped up in their personal fates and almost forget about the heist. Occasionally hard to follow, The Good Thief has one other nagging distraction: Everyone's dialogue follows the same mumbled yet rapidly rhythmic dry wit, regardless of age, poise, addictions, or native language. Still, this is recommended, overall. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, audio commentary by director Neil Jordan, seven deleted scenes with optional director commentary, and the six-minute making-of featurette “To Film a Thief.” Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid film.] (R. Blackwelder)