This is a
movie I’ve been waiting for for a while, and while it’s not quite as great as
I’d have liked it to be (that often seems to happen with movies I’m really
anticipating – maybe I need to adjust my expectations?), it’s a
highly-entertaining film headed by a stellar cast.
Debbie
Ocean, the Ocean of the title and the sister of George Clooney’s Danny in the
original Ocean’s franchise, has just
been paroled with a singular mission:
assembling a team to pull off an audacious heist, robbing a $150 million
Cartier diamond necklace from the neck of the celebrity wearing it at the Met
Gala. Getting back together with her old
partner Lou, the two ladies find everyone they need to tackle Debbie’s dream
heist.
I really
like the attitude Debbie brings here.
More than wanting the money she’ll get from fencing it, Debbie wants to
steal the necklace for the pure enjoyment of it, for the thrill of seeing her
complex, well-executed heist realized; it’s a bit like the old saying about
climing Everest because it was there.
It’s what she’s good at, and it’s what she wants to do. I like it – it’s a simple, uncomplicated
motive that, despite the criminal intent behind it, is actually kind of pure,
and that’s the energy that fuels the film.
I’ll
admit, there are places where I’d like a little more flash and style. The script, while generally entertaining and
well put-together, drags in a few places, and there are points where the breezy
heist-film excitement starts to flag a bit.
On the whole, though, I like watching our central crooks each doing
their part to contribute to the heist. Fairly
well-worn beats, maybe – the tech expert hacking security feeds, the
light-fingered pickpocket robbing her own compatriots of their watches, etc. –
but the individual characters feel specific enough to carry it through, and I
enjoy the specific challenges that the Met Gala provides, as opposed to, say, a
casino or bank vault.
No
surprise, the fabulous actresses at the center of the film are its best
asset. As Debbie and Lou, Sandra Bullock
and Cate Blanchett effortlessly lead the film, selling the history and unspoken
synchonicity between them (I really wanted them to have been lovers, at least
at some point – sequel?) Anne Hathaway
plays Daphne Kluger, the self-absorbed actress whose neck is the object of our
antiheroines’ attentions, and her performance is sensational, just over-the-top enough, pulling back
before it gets hammy. I also really love
Sarah Paulson’s fence/suburban housewife Tammy, Awkwafina’s cheerful pickpocket
Constance, and Rihanna’s chill hacker Nine Ball, and the cast is delightfully
rounded out by the addition of Mindy Kaling as diamond expert Amita and Helena
Bonham Carter as has-been designer Rose.
Their shared chemistry together is fun, snappy, and infectious, and if
this film turns into a franchise, it’s going to be because of how terrific
these ladies are to watch together.
Warnings
Swearing,
drinking/smoking/drug use, brief sexual content, and lots of criminal activity.
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