Today we want to look at the greatest movie heists. But beyond simply talking about why these films are great, we will also rank them by the money/monetary value they got away with.

The Great Train Robbery

It may not have all the hallmarks of later heist movies, such as placing great detail on the planning of the job and the psychology of those involved, but The Great Train Robbery pioneered the heist’s cinematic language. Throwing us right into the action, we watch as robbers meticulously enact a plan to halt a train without the police knowing. We then see the bandits rob the train’s occupants, before escaping and eventually being hunted down. Robbery’s structure formed the basis for all cinematic heists that followed and is still a mandatory watch for cinema buffs. We don’t know the worth of everything robbed from the train. However, it was certainly enough to etch this crime into film history.

Widows

Widows is arguably the best heist film of recent years. It not only uses the genre’s codes and conventions in a well-crafted way, but it also takes time to build up the emotional journeys of the central cast and firmly root us in its world. A place where stealing is not just done by individuals but has been part of American policy throughout history, where people of colour are systemically disadvantaged and threats against women are seen as the cost of business. Then there are the fantastic lead performances from Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo as the all-women crew. Their heist brings them $5 million, around £4.9 million today. A modest taking, though definitely one that packs enough punch to make it feel earned.

The Killing

The perfect example of a classic heist film. The Killing has it all. A gang, each with their own specialities, intricately plotting to rob a location of a large sum of money, a spectacular robbery set piece and twists no one planned for. All done with a confident, propulsive energy conveyed through great camerawork, editing and writing. Plus it has one of the best conclusions of any heist movie. The prize here is $2 million or £18 million now. Certainly no laughing matter. 

Rififi

Many heist films showcase the job in a stylised way. With fast cutting, compression of time and music used to amplify the situation’s intensity. Rififi flips these tropes upside down by crafting a heist sequence that lasts for over 20 minutes of screen time. During this time, long takes focus on every detail of the action with no music. Other heist films bask in the thrill of the crime; Rififi makes you feel the tension. All of which results in the team netting jewellery worth ₣240 million. Or roughly £31 million today.

Inception

Movie heists are mostly semi-realistic affairs. Inception uses an immaterial method for material gain. Inception’s heist revolves around implanting an idea into the mind of Robert Fischer, heir to an energy conglomerate. The idea? To break up his father’s company. Thereby allowing his competitor to dominate the market. To do this, the inception team must construct several scenarios in Fischer’s dreams to get him to lower his defences and make him susceptible to the idea. With the top two energy conglomerates at the time reporting revenue of between $275.564 – $278.188 billion (£310 – 312.8 billion now), that’s a lot of money for his competitor to sweep up.

Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers

Leave it to Wallace and Gromit to show us that even light-hearted heists can still be enthralling. Feathers McGraw’s silently sneaky plan to rob the Blue Diamond using techno-trousers, a claw helmet and a sleeping Wallace to hold it all together all adds up to a thrillingly hilarious ride. Although the actual loot is incidental, the Blue Diamond is said to be incredibly valuable. Some even list it as priceless. Not a bad haul for Feathers.

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What’s Going On?

I have always thought of Steve McQueen as an ambitious and confident director and not just because of his films, this a man who shares the name of a Hollywood legend and was not worried about permanently being called The Other Steve McQueen. McQueen’s latest film starts with the viewer being introduced to each member of a crew who is about to undertake a daring robbery lead by Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson). The brief glimpse into each of their family lives before the heist shows a not entirely sympathetic group of people. Things do not go to plan and Rawlings and the entire team are killed by the police. That is still just the beginning as the film is not really about Rawlings and his crew but the people they leave behind.

Viola Davis star’s as Veronica, Rawlings’ widow, who while still reeling from the death of her husband is visited by the criminals who were robbed and even though the money was destroyed they expect Veronica to pay it back.  The one thing of real value Rawlings left Veronica was his notebook on all his planned heists and with that Veronica plans to steal the money she needs, bringing in the other widows from the gang.

There is an ongoing B plot of an upcoming election for alderman between Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) and Jamal Manning (Bryan Tyree Henry), Mulligan being the son of the previous alderman and part of a political dynasty that has controlled the politics of the area for generations and Manning the very criminal who threatens Veronica. But while Manning may be the more obvious criminal it becomes very clear that Mulligan and his family are far from innocent.

Behind The Scenes

Steve McQueen is known for serious weighty dramas, 12 Years A Slave winning the Best Picture Oscar in 2014, and so Widows does feel like quite a departure. When watching the trailer my first thought was “I just have to see a Steve McQueen heist film” just to see what he would come up with. Widows is based on a Linda La Plate British TV show from the 1980s and while I hadn’t heard of it does seem to be well-regarded. Gillian Flynn, of Gone Girl fame, wrote the screenplay and the pair of McQueen and Flynn sets expectations high.

In Front Of The Camera

The cast McQueen has put together is amazing, casting great actors like Jacki Weaver, Liam Neeson and Robert Duvall in relatively small roles. The key trio of Veronica, Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) as the eponymous Widows hold the film together well with each of them adding immensely to the story, each with their own struggles and reasons for getting involved. Viola Davis is very convincing as a woman who had nothing to do with her husband’s criminal enterprises but rather than giving up or running wants to take back control of her life. Elizabeth Debicki stands out for the transformation her character goes on finding previously untapped reserves of strength. Michelle Rodriguez plays a little against type, being the most hesitant but also with the most to lose. Importantly, none of the women are ignorant of their husbands’ careers, even if not active participants.

Does It Work?

The film is very enjoyable with great performances all round and the two plots dovetail neatly in the conclusion. The film is suffused with the grim reality for all those within it and even Mulligan’s much more prosperous family are shown to be very much entangled in dark goings-on. Each of the three widows convincingly portrays women who are in dire straits and are willing to risk prison or even death to give themselves a chance.

McQueen is a brilliant director and easily handles the large cast and the quick plot developments easily. There are moments of real tension, particularly around Daniel Kaluuya who plays Manning’s brutal but keen on self-improvement enforcer. For a film that starts with the fiery death of four characters, there isn’t a great deal of violence in the film with just a few brutal and short scenes containing most of it. McQueen also gets as much tension out of the corrupt political machinations as the gunfights.

It is debatable if there are any “good guys” in this film. Even though you are rooting for Veronica and her team they are not entirely innocent and when faced with difficult times are happy enough planning an armed robbery and I think this is an intentional choice by McQueen. The political struggle of two different types of criminal – the gang leader Manning and the white collar corruption of Mulligan – supports the idea that everyone is involved in crime, to some degree, importantly the widows’ solution to their problem is more crime.

There is a running theme that it’s very hard to find people to trust. Family, what is normally the strongest of bonds between people, is shown to be unreliable and being close to someone brings trouble. Alice’s mother, played by Jacki Weaver, is shown to be far from the nurturing and supportive figure a mother usually is. Much of the same is also true of romantic relationships and there is a feeling that the best way to get through life is to rely on no one but yourself.

The film is an engaging drama with good performances from all the cast and I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, I am not sure how long it will linger in my mind and if it’s a film that I would want to come back to. Certainly, it is more entertaining and well made than similar films but considering the calibre of the people involved I was hoping for something better, something that would be a real classic.

Verdict: (4 / 5)

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