Thief is an underrated gem from 1981 that also contains all of Michael Mann's crime movie building blocks.
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When you think of crime movies, you probably think of Michael Mann. Despite the famed director and producer only releasing 12 feature films into theaters, and only half of which are actually about criminals, his impact is undeniable. Especially because not everyone makes crime movies like Michael Mann. Other director have different visual tastes, different musical tastes, and different character fascinations that drive his films. And it all comes back to his first true crime movie, Thief. An underrated gem from 1981 that also contains all of Michael Mann's crime movie building blocks.
The Setup
James Caan stars as Frank, a jewel thief and ex-convict who's looking to leave his life of crime and go straight. And an opportunity comes along in the form of a Chicago mob boss who wants Frank to pull off the score of a lifetime. But is this truly Frank's way out?
Thief is a solid movie that's memorable not just because it's a well-crafted and deliberately paced thriller, but also because it has so many of Mann's signature elements and hallmarks. Which is doubly fascinating since this was man's first crime movie, and the attitude he brought to the genre be it his films like Heat or the TV show Miami Vice stay intact.
Let's start with the character elements.
Trapped Men
Something you might not know, is that unlike other filmmakers, Mann is also the primary screenwriter on most of his films and the sole screenwriter on a lot of his crime movies, including this one. I bring this up because...Mann you can tell (I will not apologize for this).
Mann has a deep affection for a certain type of male character. No nonsense, highly competent men, with emotional baggage they seem ill-equipped to handle. And for so many of these men, the reason they can't handle emotional baggage is a combination of self-delusion and their dedication to something else. Usually, the job.
The reason Al Pacino's Vincent Hanna and Robert De Niro's Neil McCauley can't be happy in Heat isn't because they're incapable of finding love, it's because for both men, the job comes first.
Whereas other characters like Jamie Foxx's Max in Collateral are mentally stuck in their life and can't find a way out, while his nemesis in the film Vincent is bound by both "the job" and his code (another running Mann theme)
Fascinatingly, Thief's Frank feels like all of these ideas put together. Despite owning a used-car dealership, Frank's real job is being a jewel thief. Which, at some point, will put you in contact with higher ups in organized crime who may try to leverage their position to get you under their thumb (something Frank clearly doesn't want after going to prison).
But he also wants...the dream. A dream that's also a lie
But he also wants...the dream. A dream that's also a lie
The Dillusion of Dreams
Frank claims to want a normal life. A wife, a child and nice quiet life far away from the high risk, high reward world he's been living in for his entire life. All of which is represented by a photo he keeps in his wallet, much like Max does in Collateral (fun parallel there).
And getting the dream, requires partnering up with someone like a crime boss who you shouldn't trust.
For a brief moment or two, Frank has it. He's on the beach with his wife and adopted son. He's about to pull off the biggest job of his career, take his cut and retire. Live the family life featured in his photo.
It's clear that the mob won't want Frank for one job, especially after they helped him with that shady adoption, but Frank can't believe that because well...it's his dream.
It's clear that the mob won't want Frank for one job, especially after they helped him with that shady adoption, but Frank can't believe that because well...it's his dream.
Something I find so satisfying about Mann's work is that the end result of his films never feel in doubt. Because of who these characters are and what they do. It's self-evident to the audience and yet, not to the men on screen who are seemingly oblivious or ignoring the obvious pitfalls of what's happening.
Because the violence is inevitable...which brings us to....
Inevitable Violence
When folks talk about violence in Michael Mann movies, they tend to focus on the sensory experience of it. The deafening gunshots in Heat's massive gun battle between the thieves and police. The slick tactical grapple and gunning Tom Cruise uses in Collateral. Hell one of Manhunter's signature elements is the drumming beat of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" playing out during a showdown between our cop and criminal. And here we've go choice use of slow motion in between each gun shot that hammer home each impact and death with a score by Tangerine Dream capturing the chaos.
There's also an emphasis on our actors performing a lot of this action themselves and being trained on using the weapons as the character's would use them in real life.
The bones of a lot of modern action movies are nestled within Mann's approach to action.
The bones of a lot of modern action movies are nestled within Mann's approach to action.
What's talked about less is the function violence serves in Mann's films or how we get to it. In Mann's films, violence feels inevitable.
It's not revalatory to say that effective action scenes have build-up. Hell I've written up an entire breakdown of the "pre-fight" concept and have highighted why the build-up to Heat's chaotic shootout is half the reason it works so well.
What makes violence in Mann's movies stand out is that said violence feels inevitable. Based on who our character are. What they value. The indignities they will or won't allow. And we can see it coming for the entire runtime. Thief is no exception.
Frank makes his values very clear. He does crime his way. He picks the jobs he wants to take. He works with his people. He doesn't loop anyone else in. And he's not looking to work for anyone besides himself. So as soon as he takes a job with a mobster, who Frank has to know deep down will never let him leave the life, a violent confrontation is inevitable.
Frank's desire for freedom and the mob's desire for control are diometrically opposed from the second they meet and can only be resolved when one party is dead. We're also given examples of what Frank is willing to do and justify when he feels wronged or has his autonomy challenged.
He pulls a gun on a man in a crowded office to get the money from the heist that opens the film. He tells his soon-to-be wife about how he fought a man in prison who confronted him, who later died, without a hint of regret. He even says he doesn't regret it. His rules are clear. If you threaten or wrong him, he will fight back with everything he has.
Not that the mob operates according to Frank's rules or any less ruthlessly.
So when Frank balks at the mob's attempts at control, they kill his compatriot and tell him he's theirs.
He pulls a gun on a man in a crowded office to get the money from the heist that opens the film. He tells his soon-to-be wife about how he fought a man in prison who confronted him, who later died, without a hint of regret. He even says he doesn't regret it. His rules are clear. If you threaten or wrong him, he will fight back with everything he has.
Not that the mob operates according to Frank's rules or any less ruthlessly.
So when Frank balks at the mob's attempts at control, they kill his compatriot and tell him he's theirs.
But Frank, demonstrating what he truly values, decides to send off his wife and child by themselves as he burns down his current life (literally blowing up his home and setting his business ablaze) before gunning down the men who wanted him under their thumb. He could've run, but freedom is worth killing for in Frank's world. Even if it kills his dream.
Conclusion: The Substance That Gives the Style Heft
There are plenty of filmmakers that have tried to mimic Mann. What so many of them get wrong is the emphasis on aesthetics. The stylized violence. The soundtrack. The thrill of a heist. All of which are appealing by themselves. But the real juice of Mann's work are the men at war with who they are and a world that refuses to conform to an easy path forward.
That's the emotional bedrock that gives Mann's filmmaking flourishes heft.
That's the emotional bedrock that gives Mann's filmmaking flourishes heft.
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