Charismatic as always, Nick Nolte leads an ensemble cosmopolitan cast in Neil Jordan's enjoyable but uneven heist movie. Looking grizzlier than a pack of mountain bears, Nolte plays Bob, an aging junkie and former thief. If that wasn't enough character flaws for one man, he's also a compulsive gambler. When Bob's luck starts to run out at the dog track and dope starts to lose its allure, he contemplates doing one last heist. Picking out an exclusive Monte Carlo casino as his target, Bob gets a crew together and formulates a plan to relieve the establishment of a series of priceless paintings. However, the law, in the shape of his old nemesis Roger (Karyo) aren't far behind, while Bob's paternal relationship with an East European hooker could also prove problematic.
On the surface, The Good Thief may appear to be a simple heist thriller, a sort of art house Ocean's 11, but it becomes clear that Jordan is more interesting in exploring his characters, and creating a gorgeous atmosphere than rigidly pursuing the narrative (the film is based on John-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur). Somewhat inevitably, this leads to problems in the final third of the film - the robbery itself feels rushed after a ponderous built up - but Nolte's performance and the sense of style that Jordan brings to the proceedings means that The Good Thief is worth a closer look.
