Review

Nick Wells, played with a hypnotic world-weariness by the ever dazzling De Niro, is a master thief (and jazz club owner) who doesn’t like to take chances with his jobs, and never steals in his home town of Montréal. That's all about to change when he hooks up with Jack (Norton), a young, cocky protégé, for an impossible score in this taut, clever heist film. When Nick is approached by his old friend Max (Brando, in a welcome return as sort of a gay godfather) to break into the tightly guarded Customs House to retrieve a priceless scepter, he's at first reluctant. But the offer of four million dollars is quite an incentive, even if he has to pair with the inexperienced Jack, who is employed there under the guise of an autistic janitor. In The Score, as with Nick, the beauty is in the detail, and the filmmakers revel in the planning as much as the hold-your-breath execution of the crime, reminiscent in accomplishment of such classics in the genre as Rififi, Topkapi and Hot Millions. Director Oz also creates great tension in the relationships of the three men, but not so with Nick's girlfriend Diane (Bassett), an underwritten, throwaway part. Up until its surprise ending, The Score is a consistently entertaining, unpredictable ride.