Thief

1981 crime drama

Rating: 16/20

Plot: A safecracker longs to live a normal life with a normal family.

Gritty, stylized 70's crime drama made in the early 80's. I like my heist movies that really dig into the job with visual details. Mann's camera sneaks into the dark innards of these safes, and watching Caan go to work, you're almost fooled into thinking he's not a professional actor but an actual safecracker hired to do a movie. It's a great performance because he manages to make his character an Everyman, and the movie, which is more of a character study than any actual crime story, works better because of what he does with the character.

The great Tangerine Dream provides the score, all synth and robot percussion, and it perfectly compliments all these shots of urban loneliness with those gorgeous washed-out 80's film colors that feel like home to me, a person who was a kid in the 80s.

There's a great monologue by Caan when he's talking to Tuesday Weld in a restaurant that shows off acting that is as good as you'll ever see.