I really enjoyed this movie. It is available on Netflix. The movie was made in 2009 and had many popular actors starring in it like Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon. Movies that include a burglary or heist situation are great for getting the audiences adrenaline going and it is interesting to see how clever they are. This movie is dealing with art, but it is a Hollywood movie and targeted at a general audience who may not have a specific interest in art. If this movie was critiqued by art historians, I think it would have received a moderate score because of how they tried to interject simple facts about art and the amount of devotion they had for the pieces to show the value of them. Because of its set audience the movie had to prioritize the action over the accuracy.
As I read on Rotten Tomatoes, a blogger pointed out that this movie is somewhat like any other heist movie and how the plot isn’t unique from the others. I can see their point but there are only so many ways to make a heist movie. They tried to make it their own with their plot twist and I think that what made this movie different from the other heist movies. The Art of the Steal is about four thieves who make it their mission to steal things with high value but Nicky Calhoun (Matt Dillon) who is Crunch Calhoun’s (Kurt Russell) brother framed him for an earlier heist they were both involved in which put him in jail for five years. After getting out Crunch was attempting to stay out of trouble and applying for odd jobs, he needed money and the other men convinced him to complete the team and do one more last heist for lifetime amount of money.
My favorite character was Guy de Cornet (Chris Diamantopulc), who would duplicate the art pieces they would use to swap out of the galleries, he was from France. The way they portrayed him duplicating the pieces made it look very realistic. As in any TV show or movie like such they will use gadgets and tools to show a more authentic setting. I understand this is a movie but how fascinating he made it look was interesting. The thieves were so familiar with the paintings and their authenticity that any of them would just look and know if it was the real one or not. I think they used this to show their familiarity with art pieces and that they’ve been stealing expensive art for a while. The movie attempted to add in facts about the pieces to make it more legitimate. They used facts about pointillism and who the father of it was to give the audience thieves who were also interested in the pieces themselves and not only the money.
While the whole crew other than Nicky Calhoun (Matt Dillon) were on the same page; the rest of the crew was coming up with a plan to give him what he deserved. The Art of the Steal is about revenge and falsehood of brotherhood. I learned some people will do anything if you put a price on it and other won’t stop until they feel even with whoever wronged them. I enjoyed how the movie showed us the hidden steps and cleverness in others point of views. In my opinion this added a sense of mystery and accomplishment as if we were in the movie ourselves.
Overall, this was a good movie was an interesting plot. I think it does have influence from other heist movies, but in its own way it is unique. First, because of how they pulled out an ex-con from retirement and most heist movie crews are already formed. Secondly, how they were able to pull off an unpredictable ending and not spoil it with tons of foreshadow. Lastly, how they showed us the different point of views from the other characters. I liked this technique the best because most movies do not show us other point of views other than the main characters and this movie kept its audience in the loop of the chaos. This was directed by a Hollywood director, Jonathon Sobol, his main goal was to make a worthwhile movie for the Hollywood audience. Although, he added true facts about real artists it didn’t really matter because the audience does not care if it’s true, they care if it sounds right or looks ‘cool’ on screen. But because the facts are correct, he makes up for the percentage of the viewers that have basic knowledge on popular artists; they will appreciate it. As can be seen in my analysis, The Art of the Steal was an average movie that deserves more credit for its attempt in making a unique heist genre Hollywood movie.
