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Nick (Robert de Nero), a master burglar living comfortably from paid jobs, is contemplating
retirement with his girlfriend, Diane (Angela Bassett). He just wants to manage his beloved jazz club in Montreal. However, Nick's former partner in crime, Max (Marlon
Brando), offers him an irresistible opportunity for that last grand heist. He is to steal a priceless 17th century scepter held at the basement of the impregnable
Montreal Customs House. Max's inside man is the ambitious clever thief, Jack (Edward Norton), a young janitor of the building, coddled by everyone as he pretends to be the
slow-witted "Brian". Used to working alone, but tired and ready to retire after the proverbial one last score, Nick reluctantly agrees to work in partnership with Jack. And
the two meticulously plan and prepare the huge caper to the minutest detail in sequence and time. How will two egoistic protagonists cope with the surprise twists common to
last heists? Or will their egos clash and get the better of them?
The Score is indeed an action-suspense thriller with no excessive violence nor special effects. It exposes the viewer to a labyrinth of tunnels under the building basement and to all sorts of hi-tech security devices as access codes and infrared detectors. The viewer sits in quiet concentration, not restless but rather breathless in following the somewhat lengthy break-in of awesome complexity and clockwork precision. And these make the audience happy and satisfied. However, the media hype of three generations of great actors is quite a letdown; one expects more from a combination of high-profile stars in plot and in action. The aging icon Brando appears briefly and does very little for the film. It is de Nero who is responsible for the sustained heist sequences of suspense. The up-and-coming Norton gives an extraordinary performance in his dual personality. Bassett's talent is quite wasted on a few insignificant scenes as the girlfriend willing to marry Nick if he gives up his life of crime.
Once again we have a film depicting man's endless thirst for money. While deciding a caper to
be the last one, man cannot resist the temptation of another possible last one, and so with the next one and the next. Man cannot be fully satisfied. Also noted is that while
partners in crime usually give their wholehearted cooperation in planning a heist, once the object of their desire is in hand, selfish pride and greed generally come in. The
movie also portrays the immense amount of time, talent, and treasure man is willing to give for that one, elusive, perfect heist, if ever there is one. Nonetheless, a crime is
a crime, and it is morally wrong, no matter how beautifully planned and executed. So with a criminal; however intelligent or careful, he can never go scot-free or remain
unpunished.
(Date reviewed: December 7, 2001)
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