Last year, State and Main surprised the public with its witty humor and well-scripted characters. The acting was superb, but what held the movie together was the dialogue that not only furthered the plot, but also added to it in a way that only David Mamet can write. Now a year later, David Mamet's latest film, Heist, has hit the theaters and it contains the same formula, but with a twist.

Heist is another fine example of a character-driven, dialogue based film with the plot only playing a secondary role. To most viewers, this concept is unclear and Heist has, unfortunately, not received the word of mouth advertising enjoyed by Mamet's previous film. Rather, Heist has been received with mixed reviews - those that appreciate the dialogue between characters will appreciate the witty banter between friend and foe, while those that expect a plot with twists and turns, but no explanation will be left only partial satisfied.

Heist focuses on, you guessed it, a Heist. After a jewelry theft-gone-bad, Jim Moore (Gene Hackman) is mulling retirement because his face was caught on camera, but his fence, Bergman (Danny DeVito), wants him to do one more job and eventually coerces him into taking the job. Jim's team for the job consists of Rebecca Pidgeion and Ricky Jay (two Mamet staples who always turn in great performances) along with Delroy Lindo and Sam Rockwell as the newcomer to the groupe supplied by Bergman. Together they set out to steal some gold, but the film is much more than just the heist. To give away any more details or write a detailed plot synopsis would be a mistake as this is a film that just needs to be seen. Mamet has crafted another fine film driven by the characters with a plot that has the twists and turns needed to keep everyone interested and entertained.

David Mamet proves that with films such as House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, State and Main, and now Heist that he has become one of America's best writers and directors. I look forward to his next project and hope that Heist gets the attention it so rightly deserves.

Genres: Crime, Drama
Rated: R - For language and some violence
Runtime: 111 minutes
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