Frankly I had read mostly bad reviews of Neil Jordan’s remake of Bob La Flambeur, now called The Good Thief, and took a pass during the theatrical run but when I saw the title on the program guide said what the heck and recorded it. In the end I wasn’t disappointed.
Nick Nolte is usually pretty good and he is as Bob, the half-American title character, a retired thief spending his waning years gambling and shooting up heroin in Nice. Not without friends, though, and one day they present him with an opportunity for a last, huge score. Gérard Darmon is very slick as the older one, Raoul, and Saïd Taghmaoui as the young lover Paolo are given somewhat stock characters but turn out fair performances.
Complicating the situaiton is Anne (the Georgian teen Nutsa Kukhianidze), perhaps all of 17 and caught up in the web of a pimp named Remi until Bob sneaks her away; though she of course has eyes only for her saviour, the old man has no interest(???) and wants her to pair off with Paolo.
The final important players are Roger the cop–Tchéky Karyo, better here than as Jet Li’s antagonist in Kiss of the Dragon or Mel Gibson’s pal in The Patriot–who follows duty in pursuing one final arrest of an old opponent even though the cop owes his life to an intervention by the thief and Said, a drug dealing informant trying to buy his way out of trouble (a charge of attempted murder on Roger) by informing on the thief.
Though writer/director Jordan has a checkered history of playing to Hollywood rules, his script does follow convention: People are weak, their weaknesses seem to betray them, their inner strength and/or hard-earned wisdom give them a way to salvation and the end is positive but ambiguous. Still, an enjoyable hour and three quarters. Jordan and crew put attractive visuals on the screen and the soundtrack is matched well enough to almost be an extra supporting character, telling part of the plot; Bono offers a surprising interpretation of the hoary Sinatra chestnut That’s Life and Leonard Cohen’s A Thousand Kisses Deep works very well in context.
recommended
BillSaysThis 
