The Score (2001, DVD)

If someone had told me Yoda was going to make a serious movie about a robbery, I would not have believed it. I'm still not sure I believe it.

Frank Oz, the man who gave us Miss Piggy and played Yoda in the second Star Wars directed his first serious movie, although it was his eleventh full length feature. His first feature, directed with Jim Henson of Muppet fame, was Dark Crystal, but he then did 2 Muppet movies, followed by 7 others, including four starring Steve Martin, the most recent of which was Bowfinger. The question is, did this work? Or should we send him back to Miss Piggy for inspiration?

The short answer is No, it didn't work. But it almost did.

The plot suffers from the been-there-done-that blues, the fine actors (and they are among the best) are not given any dialog worth noting, let alone speaking. This serious movie has little or no comic relief to break up the dismal although engrossing task of stealing a large ticket item from a safe.

There is little depth beyond an unfocused list of personal needs for the characters, NO female characters developed in the least, and there are serious pacing problems. The tone is dark, and, in spite of the efforts of Howard Shore to jump start the tension with a nervous sounding musical score, I failed to anticipate the ending with any real anxiety. The music in the jazz club scenes, by way of contrast, was pretty mellow.

When it comes down to it, the major failing of this flick is the story itself. It centers around a "job" stealing a priceless heirloom, a sceptre encrusted in jewels. Sounds like a better goal for a video game, than for a feature film. The sub plots thrown in are a moderate amount of tension between an older thief wanting to pull his last job, a newbie, who with the cocky self-confidence of youth, thinks he knows it all, and an aging "fence" who is in trouble with bigger crime bosses, and needs the money.
All of this could lead to a pretty interesting story, if any character development had been done. There is even a chance to develop a romance for the aging thief, but that stands solidly in the background. Angela Bassett, who could have added a great deal, was simply a plot device.

On the other hand

The movie comes alive in the hands of the photographer, although the overall "darkness" and shadow becomes soporific in the end. There are some patterned shadow scenes that are beautiful, by any standard, and the action sequences of the actual big event are extremely well done.

The attention to detail, according to most experts, is actually pretty impressive. Our characters are never shown to be superhuman in their talents, intelligence, or athletic ability, but they aren't at all ludicrous either. So the strong point of this flick is, that in real life, it COULD happen.


Add to that, we have an incredible three man cast, who were allowed some freedom to ad lib their scenes together. DeNiro attacks with his usual intensity, Brando in a few words, ( all critics be stilled) can still act, and Edward Norton pulls off still another fascinating performance.

My Bias

I think I am tired of the thieves being awarded hero status by Hollywood. DeNiro, for all his charm as Nick in this movie, and all his expertise at being a thief, will still be working a lot less than the average person in achieving his success. I guess the message seems wrong to me. (Whatever happened to hard work? Stupid question.) But this story is not completely amoral. None of our criminals kill anyone.

Having watched Entrapment and Mission Impossible I have to say that DeNiro as a thief lacks the athletic ability of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Cruise: so if the movie is for watching master thieves work, the Hollywood slick version is a little more entertaining.

Overall

I would give Oz credit for a good, but not great effort. To me, this movie is OK to watch, but the missed opportunities are too many to merit a higher recommendation. When listening to the commentary especially, Oz seems to still be so much in awe of his cast that he failed to direct. He was so fascinated by the job,and the robbery, and the plausibility of making it believable, that he forgot that audiences need more humanity to identify with the story.



The Cast

Robert DeNiro as Nick, an aging thief. DeNiro is intense, and good at his job. He is getting on, and is shown as not perfect, not evil, but single-minded in pursuit of his goal. The fact that DeNiro pulls off as much depth to this character is incredible considering how little he actually says in this movie. His challenge is having to work with a partner. His goal is to get out of the business altogether.

Ed Norton as Jack/Brian, Norton pulls off a flashy performance as the young blood, wanting fame and success, right NOW. He has a criminal face, unfortunately, and does the beady little eyes look very well. The other half of his performance is as the undercover job in the place of the theft, as Brian, the night janitor, a marginally retarded and spastic (literally, with CP) young man, who acquires inside information because his personality makes him seem harmless and innocent. Norton is a brilliant performer, with talents yet to be discovered.

Marlon Brando as Max, the fence. He sets up jobs for Nick, and in spite of everything, creates the second most sympathetic character in this flick. He is less important than the other two, but he manages to BE a character so intensely that he seems to have been more!

Gary Farmer as Burt-a very tiny role for an interesting actor. He drives for Nick, and is a hired thug whose sole achievement was getting whipped by Jack. You may remember him as the talkative Indian philosopher 'Nobody' in Dead Man, 1995, an odd western, starring Johnny Depp.

Jamie Harrold as Steven, the computer geek, needed to crack a security system. This guy is the only comic relief, because he is so extreme compared to the low key, minimalist performances of all the rest of the cast. He is in high screech all the time.

Paul Soles as Danny, the senior Janitor who likes "Brian" the alter ego of the young thief.( He is the fatal flaw, that almost costs them everything.) Old grandfather type, so?

Angela Bassett as Diane. She is the love interest with Nick. When he says he's going to quit, she tells him to quit NOW, and not finish the job. That is the sole extent of her part in the movie, and it was a huge missed opportunity. I mean, when does DeNiro EVER get the girl?


The Plot

Meet Nick, the jewel thief, cracking a safe in a an estate in Boston. He nearly gets caught when some party people come into the darkened room for extracurricular activities. He gets back home, maintaining his safe anonymity, and covering his tracks. We find his "other life" is owning and running a jazz club, and a relationship with a stewardess.

When Max, the fence, comes to see Nick, two things have happened. The buyer for the necklace just stolen has died, but there is another opportunity, for a "Job" that will bring in 4 million dollars as a share. Nick sees this as an chance to pay off his debts and quit stealing for a living, but also is smart enough to weigh the risks. And there is another catch. He is going to have to work with a partner.

Meet Jack, an aspiring thief, who has been the inside man for the BIG theft for three weeks, working undercover as a retarded janitor in the Customs House. There is instant tension between these two. Jack doesn't want to share the glory, Nick has always worked alone. But, they need each other to pull off the caper. Max is in trouble with the mob, and needs the money.


There is some mutual testing, a building of a plan, and some interesting glitches to be resolved. The plot goes to its natural conclusion. There are a few surprises.

Final Recommendation

I failed to get excited about this film, because I expected more. It drags in the middle, big time. Still, for those of you fascinated by the mechanics of a big robbery, it may be your kind of movie. I don't regret watching it, but it isn't going to be a classic in my DVD library.