"Flawless" *** (out of ****)It is absolutely astounding that a film such as "Flawless" did so poorly at the box-office. Grossing a little more than 1 million dollars, "Flawless" was an extremely financial and critical let-down. But why?
Did the public think Michael Caine and Demi Moore would be a love interest in the film and that turned them off? Or maybe the public had a sinking suspicion the film might be good and decided they'd rather see the comic book movie opening that week.
Despite its title, "Flawless" is not a flawless film, but it is a entertaining the seems to come apart by the third act. But Moore and Caine are so good in the film, it makes it hard to tell others to stay away from the movie.
Set in London during the 1960s Moore plays Laura Quinn. The only female executive at London Diamond Corporation. She has been passed up for a promotion 6 times, by much younger and inexperienced men. Her only conclusion is sexism is at play. But a woman like Laura knew competing in a "man's world" would be difficult. Still, it is hard to hide her frustration.
Michael Caine plays Mr. Hobbs, a nighttime janitor who is nearing retirement. He too has a bone to pick with the corporation, but his motives are not as clear to us at first.
The idea is, Hobbs wants to steal a small fortune from the company's vault, which is not only the largest diamond trader in London, it is the only one. Hobbs claims he has the perfect plan. He is left alone for hours at a time while moping the floor. He is within inches of the vault, completely unattended. All he needs though is the code to open the vault which changes every week. This is where Laura comes in. He needs her to give me the codes.
The heist goes off well, with one surprise for Laura. Hobbs doesn't steal a "small fortune". The original idea was, he would only take enough which could fit in his coffee thermal. Instead, he wiped the vault clean!
For the most part "Flawless" works. There is some suspense and the performances are effective. But the film starts to talk about politics. Did Soviets steal the diamonds? Or maybe spies? Was it someone who is upset with the dirty business of diamond trading, something seen in the film "Blood Diamond". It is oddly when the motives are revealed I was starting to tune out.
"Flawless" shouldn't have been so much about why they steal the diamonds but how they did it. Whatever their personal reasons are, the script should have kept it simple. Once we start to get bogged down in explanations we are taking away from the suspense.
Of course Caine knows a thing or two about a good heist, having appeared in the original "Italian Job". I think Caine may have delivered the better performance. I've never really thought of Moore as a great actress and going over her credits, no great film stands out to me.
The film was directed by Michael Radford, who directed of all things, the 1994 Italian hit, "The Postman". Radford keeps things moving along somewhat nicely, especially in the beginning. But perhaps because I am unfamiliar with his work, I really couldn't feel the hand of a director at work here. Caine and Moore simply seem to be doing their thing. It is hard to imagine what kind of advice Radford could have given them.
"Flawless", in spite of some flaws, is still a movie worth seeing. I'm still surprised by the American public's reaction, but hopefully more people will watch it and enjoy. And, how can someone not like a film where Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond play "Take Five". That would be criminal!
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