Day 85: July 24th, 2010

The Score



There are no partners in crime.

DeNiro is a thief and a very good one at that. He gets jobs thrown his way from Marlon Brando, but he wants out. Isn't that always the case? Brando says he has one more job for him, DeNiro agrees to do one last job. Again, isn't that always the case? Ed Norton is also in on the plan, much to the dislike of DeNiro. They have to steal a scepter that is worth a lot of money. But can they trust each other?

The Score was an interesting film because it brought together 4 generations of actors. Brando, DeNiro and Norton. All three very talented and gifted actors in one film? Must be a recipe for success. Frank Oz, most famous for his business with the Muppets was directing. Now, the film isn't bad, but it isn't great either. The biggest problem is that the film doesn't try to be anything more than a simple crime caper flick.

Again, it has 3 great actors from different generations. All of them are pretty intense and serious about their craft, yet non of them are used to their full potential. Brando sits around and shows up to chat up with DeNiro here and there and DeNiro himself doesn't make a very believable thief. He has that no nonsense attitude down, but we've seen that before when he was on the run from Pacino in Heat. Norton is given a little bit to work with as he plays two roles, the other is one of a mentally challenged cover act who works the place they plan to steal the scepter from. Norton is the one out of the three given the most interesting character with the biggest struggle.

Frank Oz directs it with no special flare. It could have been anyone behind that lens and I wouldn't have cared. There was no stamp of originality or sense of ownership. It was pretty much like Deniro's character traits. Safe and simple. Nothing fancy, nothing risky. The scenes with suspense seem to be mildly interesting and you never feel the threat of danger. Oz was able to handle to 3 actors fine, but again, could have done so much more. I can't fault the script because that was the story going into it. He had the chance to make it special and beef it up, but chose not to.

The Score is decent and as far as heist films go, it was manageable. The film basically no violence in it whatsoever, which was interesting to see, specifically in this era. It tried to rely on character, performance and story to intrigue. It works to a certain point, but when you have so much going for you, it's hard to live up to that expectation. The Score fails to dazzle and it decides to work on a more moderate level.

6/10