Jewel-thief movies are old news. They always involve some big prize that?s impossible to obtain, yet the valiant protagonist pulls off the impossible.
Luckily, ?The Score? plays off the age-old storyline with interesting twists and turns that are reminiscent of such works as ?The Sixth Sense? and Agatha Christie?s ?And Then There Were None.?
Nick Wells (Robert DeNiro) is an aging jazz club owner by day and jewel thief by night. To retain the love of Diane (Angela Bassett), Nick decides to give up his nocturnal thievery, but not before teaming up with Jackie Teller (Ed Norton) to pull off one more heist.
Director Frank Oz (?Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,? ?What About Bob??) has to pull off a juggling act in ?The Score.? Some actors carry through with incredible performances, while others leave the viewer ? and probably Oz too ? wanting more bang for the buck.
Though the trailer would have you believe otherwise, Angela Bassett has no substantive role in the film. The viewer expects Bassett?s character to be an interesting twist who would leave DeNiro raging, but instead she does nothing of the sort. She?s not even around for the vast majority of the film.
Some of the dialogue also leaves a little to be desired. Two of the four writers make their silver-screen writing debuts in ?The Score.? The substandard dialogue may also be the product of the ever-abrasive Marlon Brando, who refused to shoot a scene if Oz was present on the set. Without the director, Brando?s scenes lack nuance.
The by-product of Brando?s attitude ?a truly inconsistent performance ? is present in every scene he is in. In one scene he may be stellar, while the next leaves the viewer's thirst unquenched.
Though only in his eighth film, Norton?s prior performances make him seem as if he is a grizzled veteran of the silver screen.
