I’m a sucker for a good heist or break-in movie. From Ocean’s 11 to The Score to Mission: Impossible to The Great Train Robbery, it’s always fun to watch a band of robbers break into a secure vault and make off with a pile of loot. Since break-in films generally follow the same structure (introduce characters, reveal impenetrable vault, set the stakes high, establish urgency, encounter conflict before reaching the goal, and either get caught or get away), what makes a good break-in movie are compelling characters and an interesting setup. The stakes don’t even necessarily need to be all that high, as long as the characters are interesting and the conflicts are engaging. And that’s exactly what The Maiden Heist is: a stripped-to-the-bone heist flick with neither flair nor style, but exuding charm and class in every frame. Sort of like a geriatric version of The Thomas Crowne Affair, the movie revolves around three museum workers who conspire to steal three pieces of artwork rather than let them be shipped off to Denmark.
Christopher Walken hams it up as Roger Barlow, a security guard enamored of a painting called “The Lonely Maiden” and vows to save it from being shuttle off to a foreign country where, he is certain, no one will appreciate it like he does. He soon teams up Charles Peterson (Morgan Freeman, playing the part with a wink and a smile) and George McLendon (William H. Macy, doing his best William H. Macy impression) who also want to save another painting and a statue. The three of them hatch a not-very-elaborate scheme to steal the pieces of artwork on moving day, and even though the ending is a foregone conclusion it’s a lot of fun getting there.
Freeman and Macy, conniving over cotton candy.
Macy practically steals the show as a possible army veteran who may or may not have been involved in several military conflicts, but has clearly seized the opportunity to play out his version of a James Bond fantasy with the theft of the artworks. His flamboyance and eccentricities are matched perfectly by Walken, who could hold audience enraptured by simply reading a nursery rhyme. Thrown into the mix is Walken’s overprotective wife Rose (Marcia Gay Harden) whom Charles has convinced he is taking on a long-overdue vacation to Florida.
As the old Chinese proverb states, the journey is the reward, and that certainly holds true with The Maiden Heist. The fun of the movie isn’t in wondering what will happen or if the triumvirate will succeed, but in watching it all unfold. Walken, Freeman, and Macy are clearly too old for sneaking around, rappelling down walls, and that sort of thing, but someone obviously forgot to tell them. They have such a blast playing not-quite-inept thieves that it’s hard to not enjoy it with them, and Harden’s hysterics only add to the mix.
This is not a film to be taken seriously, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. It could never hold its own against more technically accomplished and meticulously planned Hollywood counterparts, but then, that’s not really the point. If you’re interested in a fun little heist flick, or have any appreciation for these three fantastic leading actors, The Maiden Heist deserves a rental.
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Freeman plays Carter Chambers, a mechanic with the smarts of a Harvard graduate, who always let life get in the way of following his ambitions. He has spent his years dutifully providing for his family while allowing his marriage to stagnate and children to grow up with a father (now a grandfather) who is merely existing, not truly living. While in the hospital recovering from a recent cancer treatment he meets Edward Cole, a Richard Branson-esque billionaire hospital owner (oh, the irony!) who has spent his life in pursuit of fleeting pleasures and the almighty dollar, at the expense of a family or any real personal relationships. Cole, wonderfully brought to life by Jack Nicholson who provides the right balance of dark humor and sarcasm, convinces Chambers to write down the things he has always wanted to do before he dies, and as soon as the two of them are well enough to leave the hospital, the take off for a jaunt around the world crossing items off their “bucket list.”
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