Well... it doesn’t suck. That is saying something in this summer of cinematic disappointment, but when there’s a cast of the caliber and candlepower that THE SCORE has, it’s saying something rather depressing.
We first encounter Nick Wells (DeNiro) as he’s cracking the safe in the super-sized trophy home of some nameless American. Mission accomplished, he returns by circuitous route to the beautiful and European-looking city of Montreal, where he is a mild-mannered jazz club owner. One thing that sets this movie apart from the rest of the summer’s fare right away is that it is clearly meant for the grownups. Wells has nice things—dark, polished wood things, Dean & DeLuca things—as cool and tasteful as the jazz in the background (and performances by Cassandra Wilson and Mose Allison). In walks Max, played by Brando, who looks for all the world like Sidney Greenstreet. (And come to think of it, this was staged like the scene early in CASABLANCA where Greenstreet drops by Rick’s American Cafe to offer to buy out Humphrey Bogart.)
Max, of course, has an offer he thinks Nick can’t refuse—to steal a priceless French national treasure from the Montreal Customs House. But when Nick does refuse, mainly because of his larcenous credo—don’t shit where you eat—he gets an unwelcome surprise visit from Jack Teller (Norton), the inside-man of the caper.
Here we have the potential for film fireworks. In one scene where Brando, DeNiro, and Norton are all together, I thought the top of my skull was going to lift right off, I shit you not. So where does all this potential incandescence lead?
To what appears to be an industrial training film on cool high-tech tools and how to use them to break into ultra-secure locations and steal stuff. For reasons I cannot grok, director Frank Oz made a movie that will thrill those who shiver with pleasure at the thought of an afternoon in a hardware store. There’s no denying that high-tech gadgetry is cool and fun, but it does not a grownups movie make.
Character development does, and that is in surprisingly short supply here. DeNiro’s character seems to define himself by his things, which appear to include his smart, beautiful much-younger girlfriend Diane (Bassett, serving as window dressing as the lead’s girlfriend? Criminal.) The character of Max is a pretty empty vessel, but Brando fills it to the brim with all the weaselly charm he can muster. Only Jack Teller comes across as fully realized, but that may be because Norton is in his metier here—roles involving dual personalities (PRIMAL FEAR, FIGHT CLUB)—and does an excellent job as a real mocoso.
Ultimately though, THE SCORE comes off as a demonstration of clever ideas and clever solutions to a problem, more like a Thinking Machine story than a movie. And let’s just say that the punchline ending made the movie feel too much like a really lame, long setup just to get us there.
You could go further and do worse, especially in these sultry summer days when you might want to duck into an air-conditioned theater but might wish to avoid explosions or car chases. But if you’re primed to see a stylish, thrilling heist movie, skip this and rent RIFIFI.
—Roxanne Bogucka
out of 5
While we would never encourage anyone to destroy a video... 
