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Directed by Written by Starring Presented by Rated PG-13 108
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FLAWLESS Review
The caper movie is one that throughout cinema’s history has proven to be a reliable genre for pure entertainment. From THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY to RESERVOIR DOGS, the crime/caper film has delivered some excellent motion pictures. In acting, no other actor has defined the genre than Michael Caine, and with FLAWLESS he comes full circle with an excellent performance in a multi-layered film that starts off on a slow pace, but builds to a fascinating crime movie. In FLAWLESS, Caine stars as Mr. Hobbs, the kindly old janitor at the London Diamond Corporation, the world’s largest supply of diamonds in 1960. He befriends manager Laura Quinn (Demi Moore), a smart, intelligent woman who is better than the job she is given, but being this is the time before the women’s liberation movement, has to settle for her position. Upon learning that the Corporation plans to fire Laura after a suggestion on dealing with a Russian partner (the film is set during the time of the Cold War), Hobbs asks Laura to assist him on his plan; to steal a small stash of diamonds worth a million dollars as revenge on a company that has overlooked them both. She agrees to help him in obtaining the combination of the safe from company owner Mka (Joss Ackland) but soon has doubts as to Hobbs’ plans. A new set of security cameras make matters worse. Once the plan is set to action, the film takes a turn as what is supposed to be a simple robbery soon rocks the company and the whole diamond exchange industry as a whole, leading Laura to wonder Hobbs’ true intentions. What makes FLAWLESS worth watching are the performances from both Michael Caine and Demi Moore. For Moore, who has only appeared in a handful of movies over the past decade, gives her best performance in years as Laura, delivering a fine British accent and proving her own with Caine (in an ironic twist, Moore played Caine’s daughter in her first film, 1984’s BLAME IT ON RIO). It’s a strong role, but the film belongs to Caine, who once again shows why he is still one of the best even at the age of 74. His portrayal of Hobbs is one of the most sympathetic robbers you’ll see in a film, a true pleasure to watch. Lambert Wilson is also noteworthy as an investigator hired by the company to discover who robbed them. He has his suspicions on Laura and develops a relationship with her as he continues his investigation. The film has a very old fashioned feel to it, and aside from all the heavy cigarette smoking in the film (particularly from Moore’s character), would’ve easily been given a PG rating. There is no violence, very little swearing (if any at all), and is crafted well by Michael Radford. The first half of the film does move at a very slow pace, but once Hobbs goes through with his plan, it becomes a nice mystery. Radford has been a director very keen on character development and in this film it didn’t feel necessary to focus on the main characters to get the story going. It’s noted that this is the first feature he’s directed that he didn’t write the film (the task went to newcomer Edward Anderson) but nonetheless the inner workings of the diamond company, at a time in Cold War London, did provide an interesting but ultimately overwritten backdrop. The film’s denouement, in which Hobbs’ true intentions are discovered by Laura, is very satisfying in that it brings forth an unexpected climax, but also uneven in how it’s presented. Like the times, it felt like a scene straight out of a 1960s crime drama. It did remind me of Caine in GET CARTER and THE ITALIAN JOB, which is great for nostalgia, but took me out of the picture. In all, FLAWLESS might be the perfect film for an older audience to see a good, old fashioned, intelligent caper film with some intriguing characters and sharp direction. Those under 30 will hate it for its pace, but it’s worth checking out. Michael Caine fans will absolutely love it as it’s a return to his earlier crime films without playing the same role. FLAWLESS: 7 Out Of 10 Maggots
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