Okay So, Lemme Tell You About... Heist Movies
Some thoughts on the differences between heist movies, movies about heists, and movies with heists in them.
Hey, what’s up? Been a hot minute. The format on this one is gonna be a little bit different from my previous and probably not like what I’m planning to do for other movies in the future (less droning about movies in a play-by-play and more actually talking about the content of the movies). Really hoping this one turns into more of a conversation. And maybe I’ll do more of these in the future too! Who can really say? Anyways, brief spoilers for the Ocean’s franchise, Dog Day Afternoon, Inside Man, Baby Driver, Inception, The Dark Knight, and Bad Times at the El Royale. Probably not enough to ruin the movies but also go watch those anyways! They’re really good.
So I love me a good heist movie. So much so that I have the majority of a tabletop game written about playing out your own. I watched a LOT of heist movies putting that one together. And since, I’ve just watched a lot of movies. My little brain is full of stuff about movies and big flashy crimes. … For writing, I promise.
Anyways, I’ve been watching more heist movies for writing again, which has meant looking over lists to see if there’s any I’ve missed or meant to watch once upon a time or anything like that. And I’ve noticed that those lists, probably in an effort to stretch out said lists, include movies about heists or movies with heists rather than heists movies.
So what’s the difference? A heist movie, for me, requires a heist specifically in order to function and propel itself forward. If the thing that drives everything couldn’t be anything else but a heist? It’s a heist movie. Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13 are heist movies. What else is Danny Ocean gonna do, coach a kids’ soccer league? So is Dog Day Afternoon, a movie that makes me cry a little just thinking about its plot. Like, you ever loved your wife so much that you’ll rob a bank for her? Al Pacino’s character would. Anyways, they’re arguably The Most Heist Movies. They simply don’t work without a heist being integral to the plot.
By contrast, there’s movies about heists. Rather than driving the action, the heist drives the drama. The heist could be something else entirely. Inside Man is a movie about a heist. Its story is a mystery unraveled by that heist, about Nazi collaborators and retribution. Technically, the big driving action could have been just about anything. It does work really well with a heist though.
And then there’s the ones that are both. Baby Driver and Ocean’s 8 are both. In the case of Baby Driver, we have the high octane, high speed action of the heists crowding in around the quiet romance of Debora and Baby and how the heist entangles in his wider life. Because he has one and we see a good chunk of it. Same thing with Ocean’s 8. Debbie Ocean has The Perfect Heist planned, it just so happens that it’s also going to get her revenge on her ex. And we’re invited to bear witness to it and the problems it causes for her and the crew.
Sometimes the boundaries around these are less clear. Inception is a movie about heists in that heists are core to its world building. And it needs the heist to work and the heist drives it forward. But the story of it is about human connections, what they mean to us, and how deeply they affect us. And also stealing a corporate empire. As you do.
Totally separate from any of this are movies that just… contain a heist. That’s what I actually found crowding a lot of those longer lists. The Dark Knight came up a few times. But the heist in it doesn’t ever need to be a heist. I’ll be honest, I didn’t even remember it having a heist despite how good it is. Simply put, it could have been any other crime (ahem, Batman: Under The Red Hood has Red Hood achieving the same end with different means). Another example (which didn’t appear on any lists but does involve its heist more) is Bad Times at the El Royale. The botched heist at the beginning is merely one of many plot threads weaving through the movie. In the same vein are Smokin’ Aces and Bullet Train. They feel like they should be heist movies but, if there even is a heist in the course of the movie, it’s not really integral to the plot and doesn’t drive the action. They could be anything big and flashy.
This wraps around to a larger problem I have with media donning the aesthetics of genre (especially cyberpunk, noire, and neo-noire) without an understanding of the mechanics of said genre. I think that might be a discussion for another day though. We’ll circle back!
And that’s it, that’s today’s newsletter! If you wanna talk about it, here’s the thread where I first started musing. Next up will probably be some life stuff and photos, at least until I can see Mickey 17 or get sidetracked by some other media. I did try to start Severence before getting distracted by this! Also, this newsletter is now pay what you want if you feel like supporting!
Additionally, I’ve started another fiction writing and world building only newsletter if you want the occasional prose drop in your inbox. That one will have free and paid posts.
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