REVIEW BY STEVE RAMOS

Nick Nolte (right, with Nutsa Kukhianidze) gives the performance of his career in director Neil Jordan's The Good Thief.

No other director is better qualified to update Jean-Pierre Melville's classic 1955 caper film Bob Le Flambeur than novelist, short story writer and expert filmmaker Neil Jordan. Bob Le Flambeur is a timeless film, one that jump-started the French New Wave, but Jordan's beautiful version of Melville's heist tale, The Good Thief, is every bit as moody and witty as the original. Everything comes together perfectly in The Good Thief. It's a must-see -- and that's something I seldom say about movies.

Jordan has the perfect collaborator in veteran leading man Nick Nolte. As the once slick, now down-on-his-luck Bob Montagnet, a veteran gambler and heroin junkie looking to rob a Monte Carlo casino, Nolte delivers one of the most heartfelt performances of his career. Jordan and Nolte make a perfect cinematic team. It's as if they're meant to be together, matched by a sorrowful appreciation of the world around them. Nolte's heavy shoulders, sad-sack face and bulky frame matches perfectly with the world-weary Montagnet. You never doubt that Montagnet is a man out of luck, and that's due to Nolte's picture-perfect performance. Nolte makes every gesture, each shuffling step and every downtrodden stare, count. In his deep-set eyes and shaggy hair, you see a once gorgeous man who has become a shadow of his former, successful self.

Nolte looks at home slumped over a café table, but it's his raspy voice that turns out to be the highlight of the film. Jordan makes musical use of Nolte's baritone speech. His witty dialogue becomes a character in itself. Basically, Nolte brings Bob Montagnet alive on all fronts. It's every bit as rich as his performance as Affliction's small-town sheriff, which I considered Nolte's best work until watching The Good Thief.

The Good Thief's caper, pulled from Jordan's screenplay, is a clever batch of twists and turns. Its surprises are credible, which is all you can ask from a heist movie. Jordan makes full use of the film's exotic Monte Carlo locale. There's not one dull shot in the film. Jordan's camera, ably handled by cinematographer Chris Menges, hugs the winding roads through Monte Carlo. The twinkling lights of the Casino Riviera and the rich blue waters of the French Riviera come alive.

Jordan makes music a constant backdrop in the film, an enjoyable mix of French Pop tunes and atmospheric Jazz standards. The Good Thief dazzles, especially during the fluttering images when Jordan brings the action to a momentary pause, a loving gesture to Bob Le Flambeur's French New Wave origins.

Newcomer Nutsa Kukhianidze sparkles as Anne, an impish street hustler with a thick Eastern European accent, black eye and a mysterious personality, who Bob rescues from her pimp. As Anne, Kukhianidze does what all great femme fatales are supposed to do: She keeps everyone guessing about her loyalties to the film's clever end.

Tchéky Kayro offers able support as Roger, the French detective constantly on Bob's trail. Roger has a love/hate relationship with Montagnet, which Kayro captures with his easygoing performance. Ralph Fiennes brings a creepy jolt to the story as a shady art dealer who strikes back at Bob's attempt to trick him with some fake canvases.

The film's cleverest casting bits are director Emir Kusturica as the engineer who designed the casino's alarm system and filmmaker brothers Michael and Mark Polish, who play twin casino workers who align themselves with Montagnet's crew.

Still, by the film's thrilling climax, it's Nolte and Jordan who stand out as The Good Thief's rightful stars. Jordan's filmography is one of the most impressive around: The Crying Game, Mona Lisa, The Butcher Boy and The End of the Affair. It's also one of the most unique collections of alternative films. The Good Thief, every bit as good as The Crying Game and Mona Lisa, is a welcome addition to Jordan's list.

By the film's finish, Montagnet is dressed in a stylish black suit. He's surrounded by thick cigarette smoke and admiring onlookers. Nolte possesses the cool demeanor necessary to make him a man on the rebound, if only temporarily. To Nolte's credit, you desperately want to know what happens next, no matter the finale. Montagnet's story is too good to close in one chapter. That alone is the surest sign that Nolte has delivered a career-defining performance.
CityBeat Grade: A.

E-mail Steve Ramos

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