[Movie] CRIME 101 - DETAILED REVIEW
I entered this one expecting an action movie and a heist/suspenseful one at that, and I left with one of the more enjoyable heist thrillers that I have seen in quite a while. Based on the novella by Don Winslow, Director Bart Layton's adaptation manages to capture something classic, even if it's a refreshingly honest heist film that relies as much on its characters as its set pieces.
The premise is simple yet deceptive... a jewel thief that has successfully made a series of heist with an unbroken string of unsolvable crimes for the past three years along the 101 freeway in Los Angeles is determined to make one more before he walks away permanently. A disillusioned insurance broker, whose own life is also at a turning point, also falls into his life, and the two are thrown into an uneasy, dangerous partnership. In the meantime, a persistent detective who believes he's discovered the modus operandi of the thief comes increasingly close and closer to both of them, and the film slowly tightens this net, frame-by-frame, until the hunter and the hunted are virtually indistinguishable from one another.
The only thing that makes this more than just a typical “one last job” heist is the amount of character attention that Layton gives to the characters that orbit around the crime instead of just how the crime is done. The thief, played by Chris Hemsworth, is doing some of the best work of his career here, not given the movie star charm he's so known for, but instead playing this character coiled and watchful, with every scene that seems one step from falling apart. It's a real understated production and it's a good reminder of what he can do when he's not in a blockbuster franchise.
The other half of the film's emotional heart is Halle Berry, whose weary, quiet desperation with regard to the insurance broker is the same character that's not the "woman pulled into a criminal's orbit" type. Her character is not merely a foil for the thief, but is also in the midst of a fragile and chaotic situation of her own, and the fact that she is now on the same side makes their partnership feel earned rather than convenient. Then there's Mark Ruffalo, playing the detective, with a less flashy but every bit as compelling performance who seems to be filling some void in his own unraveling personal life with his obsession in cracking this case. Ruffalo gives the part a tiredness that turns the cat and mouse game into something more than a genre device and more akin to watching two people who perhaps in a different life, understood each other just fine.
The rest of the cast contributes well, too: Barry Keoghan's slightly off-center, often unhinged presence is a perfect fit for the part, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte provide texture and gravity in supporting roles, and Monica Barbaro and Corey Hawkins both make strong impressions on the periphery of the story.
On the level of aesthetics, what you're looking at is a beautiful movie. Cinematographer Erik Wilson embraces the sun-kissed, slightly dingy charm of L.A., the 101 freeway almost a character the endless, continuous blood vessel winding through the entire narrative, creating a sense of place. The heist scenes are tight and well calculated, but not the kind of over-done performances that many modern-day heist films indulge in, and the heist itself is quite real and dangerous, not some kind of highlight reel. It's also a score well done to Blanck Mass, a score that is moody, propulsive, but never overwrought, and only used when it is needed to add to the tension, rather than when it isn't.
The slow pace which is a major strength of the film, allowing some character work to take the time it deserves before the action gets to the next set-piece at times drags a bit too long in the second half of the film, especially during some of the detective's personal subplot scenes, that don't always get the time they deserve. It's a minor blip on the radar in an otherwise tightly wound film and it certainly never slows the pace down.
Final Thoughts:
It's a heist thriller with a lot of confidence in its actors, and its atmosphere, as well as its heist.It's a heist thriller that has a lot of trust in its actors and its atmosphere as well as its heist, and it rewards that trust handsomely. Hemsworth, Berry and Ruffalo all hit some of their most understated and effective performances of the year, Layton's direction doesn't get showy, and it has a real sense of place and consequence that many heist films would miss out on without all the showmanship. It doesn't walk in loud and obtrusive like genre fans might imagine, but that's exactly what supports its success.
I think it's a very well directed, suspenseful, and surprisingly moving heist-thriller that is driven by career-best performances from the three leads.
Rating: 80/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/movies.