I said before that The Score was a little more fun than this film, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better film. Written and directed by David Mamet, who is known for his incomprehensibly witty dialogue, Heist is more than just a crime thriller; it is a return to the classic genre of film noir. Film noir is a special genre of film made popular in the ‘40s and ‘50s that got its name from its extensive use of shadow and darkness (film noir means “black film” in French). Most film noir involves the main character being duped by several characters that he once trusted including a character called the femme fatale, a female character who he trusts until the very end of the film, and usually takes place in an urban environment. Heist is a variation on the film noir format in that it doesn’t use urban environments or the dark photography. In fact, the entire film takes place on brightly lit sets or outside during the daytime, eliminating the dark, foreboding environments of traditional film noir. However, Heist does have some of the best witty dialogue since the original days of film noir and it has more turnabout, lying, and double-crossing than any movie this year. The movie stars Gene Hackman as a retiring thief who is muscled back into one last job by his greedy boss, played by Danny DeVito (sound familiar?). The plot may sound similar to The Score, but it couldn’t be further from it; Hackman’s gang, which consists of Delroy Lindo, Rebecca Pidgeon, and the incomparable Ricky Jay, are all constantly switching sides and shaking hands with the enemy. Just when you think you have it all figure out, someone else betrays Hackman and we are thrown back into confusion. This film is also more realistic than the other heist films because of Hackman’s inadequacy as a burglar. It stands to reason that if he’s retiring, he may not be as good as he once was and this movie is not afraid to show the hero in a vulnerable position. This film is not quite as visually exciting as The Score or Ocean’s Eleven but the plot is certainly more intriguing and the dialogue is some of the best in years. Heist focuses more on the characters rather than the technical aspects of the robbery and takes a deeper look at what can happen when you make friends out of people famous for being good at lying, cheating, and stealing.