Rating: 
Summary: A quiet an' subtle near-classic...
Review: I wasn't too sure what to make'a this flick when I went to see it at the local artsy theater downtown. I'm a fan'a Nick Nolte's work an' my taste in movies leans toward the more obscure like this, but I was still skeptical. But, I gotta tell y'all, after about thiert minutes of uncertainty I was hooked. It's dark an' atmospheric, the story, set in South France, is simple enough to follow, but complex enough to remain interesting an' innovative. An' is' focused on a character who's hadda life'a hard drugs, hard booze, an' hard times an' seems at the end'a his rope. I hafta agree with what the reviewer Michael Acuna in that Nick Nolte plays this role like it's his last performance ever. The character of Bob Montaigneis an aging gambler and heroin addict, who's masterminding a casino theft in hopes of breakin' his downhill streak of poverty, bad luck an' depression. He's as complicated an' difficult a person to relate to as any, but Nolte plays him in such a way that he becomes a mysterious enigma, spoutin' off stories an' philosophic musings, but never REALLY lettin' us know what it is that makes him feel so empty. Because'a that dark an' cynical aspect of Bob; the anticipation of the actual heist as Bob gathers his team of cohorts who're gonna help him pull the job, all the while with a dogged police inspector breathin' down his neck, has a sense'a dread surroundin' it. But director Neil Jordan tends to end his movies on as unexpected a note as possible, an' 'The Good Thief' was no exception.Like I said, this movie was hard for me to get into at first, but once you get drawn in, it doesn't let you go. The acting is all superb though Nolte obviously is runnin' the show here (he's burned-out an' reflective, but never overly-cynical, you will LIKE his character). The young newcomer Nutsa Kukhianidze who plays the 17-year-old Bosnian prostitute who comes to stay with Bob, shows several flashes of promise (an' several flashes of another kind), an' Tcheky Karyo as the police inspector as well as the kid who played Bob's worshipful sidekick Paulo (sorry, his name was too hard to remember) both were great support. This movie ain't gonna be for EVERYBODY. It does fall into that artsy-fartsy category an' as I said you hafta have patience at the start an' not allow yourself to be swayed by the odd an' unorthodox feel. If I'm gonna complain about ANYTHING in this movie, is' that I feel like Bob kicks his heroin habit rather quickly an' rather easily. He seemed to have one night of hardships, an' then he was jus' fine. No relapses, no serious references to it, NOTHING. That bothered me, because the story paints him as this wasted, burned-out junkie who's beyond help by the time he decides to kick, yet then it allows him to kick with no problem. But, other than that one minor infraction, I dug this movie a lot, an' if you wanna get away from the typical fluff Hollywood is churnin' out, then give this a shot.
Rating: 
Summary: Neil Jordan is a master!
Review: In the Good Thief, Neil Jordan revisits some of his signature territory (down and out criminal type who dreams of something larger in a sea-side landscape) with a breezy, light-hearted spirit. Unlike Mona Lisa or the Crying Game (some of my favorite films), the main character doesn't have to swallow a bitter pill at the end. As a heroin-addict and master thief, Nick Nolte gives a tempered but not tortured performance. He's the man that all the male characters want to be & all the women want to be with (at least all the drug-addicted underage prostitutes and bar owners do!). And you start to understand why--it's great fun to watch Nolte's rumpled addict at the start (complete with a series of unfortunately-patterned leisure shirts), be seduced by his non-stop inventive storytelling and applaud him when, with luck regained, he grandstands an amazing night of gambling, impervious to the success or failure of his double heist that's being enacted at the same time. After seeing this movie and Affliction, I have to say Nolte's a great actor. People in the audience were clapping and laughing out loud when I saw it. The film is smart and incredibly fun to look at with stylish freeze-frames, fluid camera, beautifully colorful images. The soundtrack is terrific as well--reflects the multi-national cast and setting. One caveat: I did have to see the film twice to understand all the dialogue which is delivered in throw-away fashion by the mostly European cast; however, second viewing allowed me to appreciate how cleverly the plot and characters are constructed. As another reviewer mentioned, all character development has some important pay-off (while also delivering imaginative portraits from this melting-pot Mediterranean underworld). This isn't McGyver--really the point of this heist movie isn't the mechanics of how the caper goes down, but the enjoyable characters who you follow through the story. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Moody Noir, But Lacks Something Powerful to Make Us Care
Review: Loosely based on Jean-Pierre Melville's noir classic, "The Good Thief" offers much for the fans of the genre, but little for the fans of the star Nick Nolte's "48hrs". The film is slow-moving, and the stress is given on the characters, not the actions, so don't expect any Walter Hill-like machismo touch here. Neil Jordan's newer version follows basically the same plot of the orginal. It is about Bob, aging gambler living in the French Riviera, and is constantly under the influence of some substance. While he rescues a Russian girl Anne one night, and finds himself utterly broke, he takes another (and the last) chance to do heist, this time a very big one. He collects unique members to do this job, but French cop Roger (Tcheky Karyo) is always watching him, knowing that something is going on. Jordan gives a twist to the story of the original "Bob le Flambeur," but the French film is also influenced by American noirs like "Asphalt Jungle," and here and there in "The Good Thief" you will find what you saw in these old heist films -- a lady, a thwarted plan, and so on. Neil Jordan follows the rules very carefully, but I am afraid too carefully to really engage us. But the picture itself is beautifully done, capturing the glowing lights of Monte Carlo casinos or the dangers hidden behind the feebly-lit streets at night. (The photographer is Oscar-winner Chris Menges, "The Mission" "The Killing Field" and others) The moody images are one of the assets of the film, so is the strong acting of Nick Nolte as Bob. The support is interesting, if not always great. Tcheky Karyo can be as bad and evil as he wants (see "Kiss of the Dragon") but he shows unexpected tenderness here, like in "The Core." You see a cameo of Ralph Fiennes, but his role is too small to need special mention, and so is Said Taghmaoui, who was so impressive in French film "Hate." Emir Kusturica (himself a director of "Arizona Dream" and "Underground") is not bad as a comic relief, a high tech guy Vladimir playing rock guitar. As Anne Nutsa Kukhianidze, though obviously she needs more training for acting, is very seductive and sexy enough. So, "The Good Thief" is a good noir, but that is all I can say. I find the film needs stronger driving force for any characters involved -- I don't think I saw much of Bob's character as gambler in the film -- but as noir that's ok. Just good.
Rating:
Summary: Zip, Verve, Polish and Challenge
Review: Neil Jordan has done it again! THE GOOD THIEF is another one of those truly excellent films that for some reason didn't make it in the theaters. Perhaps it takes too much concentration from an audience ready for a blowup blaster heist of a story. That is here, but it it is delivered in so sophisticated a manner that the actual casino caper is secondary to the quality of the story, and characters who populate it. Set on the Riviera, Nick Nolte stars as a 'has been' con man who apparently decides to have one last fling - but to do so he has to shake his herion addiction and clean up his past a bit. This done, he encounters an assembled cast of characters that are each interesting and well acted, from a beautiful newcomer who plays the sole love interest to an arachnophobic body builder undergoing a sex change. The police are for once treated as interesting individuals instead of chumps, the plans for the heist are laid out in a spellbinding way, and the whole planned caper is photographed in stylish camerawork which includes mesmerizing freeze frames that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat. If you can figure out the ending before it happens then you will be among the few! Jordan paces this excellent film so well that it packs a wallop and all along the way he offers little asides that make you laugh and make you identify with the incredible assortment of people he has created and directed, PS: Turn on the subtitles (English) before you start this film as there are so many varying accents in this melting pot on the Riviera that you may miss some great lines if you depend on your ears!
Rating:
Summary: Nolte le Flambeur
Review: Neil Jordan is a master storyteller and filmmaker and also the director of the new Nick Nolte film, "The Good Thief." Nolte plays Bob Montagnet (montaigne): a beat up, past his prime, drug addled, seemingly out of it, former big time thief faced with the prospect and challenge of his final, once in a lifetime heist.
Nick Nolte, craggy-faced, whiskey voiced and dripping with charisma plays Bob like it is his final performance ever: his every word is delivered with deathbed earnestness... voluptuous with meaning.
Bob is a man who has come to the realization that his days as a thief and a romancer of women have just about come to an end. And because of this, when he is offered a chance in a lifetime to plan and execute the ultimate heist, he grasps at it with every fiber of his being for he knows there will be no more chances to make his mark .He is a man possessed with self-knowledge enough to know that this is his final chance to collect enough money to live out his days in luxury. Bob Montagnet could not, would not ever live without the finer things in life.
"The Good Thief" was shot in the south of France and in Monte Carlo by Michael Balhaus in gorgeous jewel tones to reflect the luxury of the world in which Bob revolves.
If there is a fault in this film it is in the re-dubbing: the voices do not always blend with the milieu in which they were shot.
"The Good Thief" is a thoughtful portrait of a man at the end of his career who must decide between fading into the sunset with a whimper or going out with a bang; even though that final bang might cost him his life.
As he showed in "The Crying Game" and "End of the Affair," Neil Jordan has an affinity for the disenfranchised, the disaffected, the outcasts of the world. And once again in "The Good Thief" he shows that he can relate and empathize with those who can only survive if they live on the fringes: steadfastly adhering to a code of ethics that they alone can explain and which most of us would be hard pressed to uphold or adhere to.
Rating:
Summary: Jordan & Nolte Deliver
Review: Neil Jordan is one of my favorite directors. He is the kind of person who always delivers. Watch Interview with the Vampire, End of the Affair, The Crying Game. He makes exciting watchable movies. The Good Thief is a great movie. Not exactly his best, but it had strong memorable acting, especially from Nick Nolte.
If your a Neil Jordan or Nolte fan, make sure you see this masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of Jordan's best, but still not bad at all
Review: Neil Jordan's filmography includes some memorable films (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, End of an Affair). It also includes some films that stirred controversy (In Dreams, Butcher Boy). The Good Thief does not belong to any of those two categories, which is not good. On the other hand, it might be not that bad after all. Without revealing the important parts of the story, The Good Thief is a heist movie without any heist. Bob (Nick Nolte) is an aging heroin addict and gambler, currently on a losing streak. As a result, he easily accepts the proposition of an old friend to participate in a big heist in a Monte Carlo Casino (The French Riviera offers ideal locations for the movie). While forming the group of people to assist him in his heist plans, he has to be careful of a cop following him (Tcheky Karyo), and at the same time, look after Anne, a Russian girl (Nutsa Kukhianidze) he saved from the man she was previously working for. The problem of The Good Thief is that, as a heist movie, it cannot offer many original moments, but just original, stylish, I may add, ways to present the moments, common in all heist movies. In any case, as every heist movie that respects itself, it includes its twists and surprises. There is the loyal friend, the traitor, the girl, characters that you find in every film of the kind. But still, this one is different. It does not focus on the action (well, there is a car chasing scene, but, alas, with a comic conclusion), but on the characters. As a matter of fact, one of the most interesting points of the movie is the relationship between the thief and the cop, who may be Bob's only true friend. The cast is international, with actors coming from many different countries. In small roles, you can find the excellent Bosnian director, Emir Kusturica, in a part that offers comic relief, along with Ralph Fiennes, who has just a few minutes of screen time, but manages to make us notice his presence. Still, Nick Nolte is the man that carries the film. He seems to be in every scene, his presence reassuring and confident. It is as if Nolte is getting better as he is getting older... Special mention should be made to the soundtrack that blends ethnic, jazz with songs from Leonard Cohen and Bono.
Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT THIEF
Review: Nick Nolte and Neil Jordan make a deadly combination in this tale of theft on the riviera. An excellent cast, excellent script and stylish cinematography make this a sophisticated noir and a real joy to behold. Nolte is better than Bond and cooler than cool.
This makes The Good Thief better than the average heist film.
Enjoy this modern classic with a glass of wine.
Rating:
Summary: He's getting better!
Review: Nick Nolte was never a favorite of mine until he made a comedy with Bette awhile back (Movie name: Down and out in Beverly Hills). And he is really good in this movie. I felt that I really knew this character--maybe we can thank Neil Jordan for that--he's also great--but I think Nick is finally maturing in his acting. The scenery is wonderful too. Felt like going to Monte Carlo myself. Don't miss this.
Rating:
Summary: Heist Film with a Thin Streak of Dark
Review: Nolte is always a joy to watch, and he doesn't let you down with his performance here. This movie is head and shoulders above Soderberg's version of "Ocean's Eleven", but it could have been better. The story becomes unforgiveably lame in the third act, as the plans unravel and coincedentally fix themselves in unlikely and silly ways that have nothing to do with the actions of the protagonist, as he is busy getting very, very lucky at the casino while everyone else does the interesting stuff. Worth a rent for the cinematography alone, but not one destined for my permanent collection.
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