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| Bandits |
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  (8/10)
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Runtime: 121 |
| Public Rating: 7.59 (27 votes) |
Director: Barry Levinson |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Comedy / Drama |
Year: 2001 |
| Writer(s): Harley Payton |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Dan Smith |
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Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan, Slingblade) and Bruce Willis (Unbreakable, Die Hard) are an excellent combination in this crime caper comedy drama. Thornton and Willis play Terry Collins and Joe Blake, who escape from prison and begin a new career as bank robbers, with a unique method of robbery. Terry reasons that the thing that goes wrong with most bank jobs is that you always get caught because the situation gets out of control. To alleviate this problem, Terry decides that what they need is more control from the outset. The solution? Spend the night with the bank manager, and take him to work the next day before the bank opens.
This method works well until complications set in. The biggest complication is in the form of Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett; Pushing Tin, The Talented Mr. Ripley), a housewife who is unhappy with her husband, and her general lot in life. Kate soon becomes a part of the gang, and a love triangle develops.
The film opens with Terry and Joe trapped in a bank surrounded by Police, and the story is told in a series of flashbacks. I am not usually a fan of the flashback plot, but it works well in this movie, as does everything else about it. Willis has truly come of age and gives a convincing, solid performance, playing the part of the angry and sometimes violent Joe Blake. Cate Blanchett is also good in this film, and even if she wasn’t, who is going to complain about seeing her on the big screen? Billy Bob Thornton is the one who truly steals the limelight here though. His character is a hypochondriac who immediately begins to display the symptoms of any illness, disease, or malady that he hears about. Thornton has taken on the role of a “Side-Kick in crime” before, most notably in his characterization of the sometimes irritatingly simple Jacob Mitchell in A Simple Plan. In this outing however, Thornton blends his usual top-notch style of acting with sly comedy and the result is a character you will remember long after the credits roll.
Veteran Director Barry Levinson does a great job behind the camera, and happily, avoids the usual cliches normally associated with genre films such as high-speed chases and needless tough guy scenes.
Bandits is an original and welcome breath of fresh air in the theaters, with a well written script, including an ending that, while unlikely, is satisfying. Don’t miss it!
DTS
10/13/01
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