The Score

By: Carl Cortez
Date: Friday, July 13, 2001

If it weren't for the A-list cast of Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando, THE SCORE would have been pretty ordinary. At the center of it all is a routine heist story one that we've seen a thousand times before, but it's somehow made palatable by superb acting and taut direction thanks to Frank Oz.

De Niro plays the old, wizened thief Nick Wells who is living the good life in Montreal running a legitimate jazz club and using his periodic "scores" to pay the bills. He's ready to quit the business, however his old partner in crime Max (Marlon Brando) has one last job for him the one that will set both of them up for life with millions of dollars to spare. It's a risky move because it breaks Nick's cardinal rule never do a job in your own background.

Against his better judgment, Nick gets sucked into the deal with one very big catch he has to team up with hotshot know-it-all Jack Teller (Edward Norton), who has been putting the job together for several weeks. Posing as a handicapped janitor at the Montreal Customs House, he's learned about a French scepter a priceless heirloom worth millions that is being kept under lock and key. Jack knows the routines and is the eyes to get Nick in.

Things seem to be going well at first, but soon the plan begins to unravel. Nick wants to settle down with his part-time girlfriend Diane (Angela Bassett), but is torn between walking away from the gig and getting away with the score of a lifetime with the chance of losing Diane if he chooses the former.

THE SCORE moves along at its own deliberate pace, but could have used a few trims here and there to make it tighter. The seams begin to show most toward the film's climactic heist where it should have been a firmly woven, thrill a minute set piece for the audience. Instead, it feels like it's dragging its heels too much. Showy acting can take you only so far and by that point all the Oscars in the world can't make up for a padded story.

While it's always fun to see an actor like Norton at the top of his craft, his con artist character does wear a little thin at times especially when he's pretending to be handicapped. The movie hits you over the head with his "performance" too often and you get the feeling he's trying too hard to get noticed as an Oscar contender instead of focusing on just simply the character. De Niro is understated and gets the most mileage out of the playful scenes he has with Brando.

While Brando will always be considered one of the acting greats, I'm still reeling from the disturbing image of his half naked overweight body in bed with Faye Dunaway in DON JUAN DEMARCO. Seeing him here brought back those traumatic memories, but since he keeps his clothes on for the most part and actually gets the chance to be playful, which is all too rare it's actually pretty nice to see him back on screen.

For the most part, the only person left out is Bassett. She gets a few showy scenes with De Niro, but she's just window dressing to the heist portion of the story. Efforts are made to beef up the moral dilemma De Niro faces in choosing his career or his woman, but you know how these things always turn out. It's not called THE SCORE for nothin'.

Coming out of this film on top is director Frank Oz. Primarily known as a comedic director (IN AND OUT, BOWFINGER), he really shows off his dramatic and suspense helming skills. Creating a sense of what the characters must go through and the process of problem solving before the heist begins provides some of the most entertaining parts of the whole film. He really sets up the geography well, which so many action directors tend to forget you need to know where everyone and every place is or else the film is just a bunch of choppy, quick-cut images slapped together with no rhyme or reason (see anything directed by Michael Bay).

THE SCORE is the kind of movie that would have had a better chance being released in the Spring or Fall, because it's pretty much all character and very little action. It might win a few audiencegoers, but in this crowded summer marketplace, THE SCORE is probably going to have to settle for less than what it's actually worth.

THE SCORE

Grade: B

Reviewed Format: Wide Theatrical Release

Rated: R

Stars: Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett, Marlon Brando

Writer(s): Kario Salem, Lem Dobbs, Scott Marshall Smith based on a story by Daniel E. Taylor and Kario Salem

Director: Frank Oz

Distributor: Paramount Pictures