The space and the world around it are nondescript and anonymous. The lights are all blurry as they twinkle faintly in the distance like manmade stars. Cars roar in the background as a freeway is framed between the couple and seen through the wall of windows. The diner itself is a florescent oasis amidst the dark black of the night outside. A standout moment comes when - in the same breath as if it was all the same casual question - Jessie asks Frank, “Where were you in prison would you pass the cream please?”Īll the while, the scene is imbued with an electric quality. When Frank makes a joke about the death of an inmate, there’s a not-very-well stifled laugh from her. She teases out a playful attitude in the character. On the other side of the table, Weld is equally strong as Jessie. When his lighter doesn’t work, Frank still holds the unlit cigarette for a few minutes, as if he doesn’t know what to do with his hands otherwise. Physically, he plays Frank as someone operating on muscle memory.
Frank is a mess of emotions - he’s aggressive and sad, cagey and nonchalant, brave and frightened. It’s terrifying and saddening, delivered with the kind of honesty that indicates Frank understands how he survived the eleven years in prison, but there’s no way he’s truly processed it.Ĭaan here, it should be noted, is excellent. He relates how he feared for his life and how he fought, only to learn of the serenity that comes with not caring anymore. Frank tells her about how time loses meaning. Mann apparently did his research here, utilizing stories he’d heard from real former inmates. He tells her things his ex-wife didn’t know: his work as a thief, his time spent in prison, and the mentality he developed to survive. She explains her rocky past spent drifting with an ex and her present appreciation for a life that is boring and ordinary. Each calls the other out for not using their indoor voice.
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She’s still bitter about feeling stood up, and he’s learning how to be honest after so many years of duplicity. It’s minor, but it’s where we find the heart of the film. The next ten minutes play out as a simple conversation. After showing up late to a date with Jessie, Frank takes her to an all-night diner for coffee.
A case in point is the thrillingly lowkey dinner scene that bridges the first and second acts. This is the work of a director who, to put it simply, knows exactly what he’s doing.Īnd yet, as exciting as it is when the film goes big, it’s even better when it goes small. With the help of a pulsing Tangerine Dream score, Mann expertly racks up the tension in these moments. But even beyond the visuals, Thief is thematically rich, deftly paced, and perfectly illustrates what makes Mann’s confidence as a filmmaker so unique.Īs one might expect from a film titled Thief (and one based on the exploits of a real burglar), the action sequences here are extraordinary. The icy palette and neon-noir aesthetics, in particular, are quintessential Mann. The film’s heart-pounding action and mesmerizing style laid the foundation upon which Mann has built a career. First, Frank has to pull off one last big score, but being under the thumb of a Chicago mob boss complicates the matter.
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The heist movie stars James Caan as Frank, a master jewel thief and ex-con who has his sights set on a different life, one he wants to share with Jessie ( Tuesday Weld) and their child. And just because that’s hyperbolic doesn’t mean it’s not true. Michael Mann‘s 1981 crime thriller Thief is commonly considered to be one of the strongest directorial debuts of all time.
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