Flick of The Day: The Good Thief

A very loose remake of the classic French gangster film, Bob Le Flambeur directed by Jean Pierre Melville, this Neil Jordan directed film is not so much a remake as a re-imagining, much like Wener Herzog's take on The Bad Lieutenant which we reviewed a few weeks back.

The Good Thief

Nick Nolte is superb as Bob, the junkie former thief who is living in semi-retirement on the French Riviera, gambling away his life savings but still retaining a sense of honour and chivalry exhibited by a scene early on in which Bob crosses the path of a local gangster to help a young Russian girl who has been trafficked into the country. Nolte captures the role of a dissolute wastrel perfectly. As is always the way, a broke Bob has to take on One Last Big Job. A cliché as old the Hollywood hills but it doesn't really matter, the script pulls it all together. Neil Jordan has always been able to populate his films with snappy and witty dialogue and The Good Thief is no exception;

Bob: It's a good fake, though. (While viewing a painting)
Tony Angel: Isn't that a contradiction in terms? A Good Fake? A Happy Homosexual?

The film has a fine supporting cast drawn from across the globe, giving the film a cosmopolitan feel but Nick Nolte steals every scene. His Bob is always there with a witty quip or a rambling story of the old days such as how he obtained his Picasso. The other star is the French scenery, the film was filmed on location in Monaco and Nice. The back streets of Nice teem with immigrant life and some fine camera work from cinematographer that captures the neon night scape that Bob roams through.

Bob le Flambeur - Criterion Collection

The heist when it comes is enjoyable. There is something about seeing a Casino lose a large some of money that warms the heart. All in all, a film worthy of your attention and deserves to be seen by more people then the tiny minority who saw it upon its blink and you've missed it cinematic release.