Director: Neil Jordan
Year Released: 2002
Rating: 2.0
A multinational film, literally: it's set in Monte Carlo and has actors and actresses from all over the globe - hell, I'm beginning to think Nick Nolte's from another country since his increasingly garbled delivery will require subtitles one day. The movie itself is something else - it's uncharacteristically sloppy (for Jordan) and somewhat lackadaisical, and the common line that it's "superior to Ocean's Eleven" because there's "more substance" doesn't seem fair to Soderbergh's picture. The subplots are treated as being almost irrelevant (Ralph Fiennes' cameo is wasted), the material with a verbally hesitant (but physically willing) Nutsa Kukhianidze isn't convincing (seeing Nutsa go after Clooney would be) and how they arrived at the ending is ignored (the Ocean's Eleven heist at least looked good). Nolte is exceptional, of course, and the director cameos are fun (Kusturica gets to show his proficiency at playing the six-string), but it's a lukewarm experience.
