November 13, 2001 -- "Heist" is a smartly-written caper movie with sparkling dialogue. While it is too cute to be believable, it is still a very classy bit of filmmaking.

"Heist" is written and directed by David Mamet ("State and Main," "Ronin," "Wag the Dog," "The Spanish Prisoner"). Mamet's ability to write dialogue is as good as anybody in the business, and the banter is as lively and witty in this film as one would expect from the master. People don't talk this way in real life, but life would be much more interesting if they did. A little dialogue from the film says it all. "Love makes the world go 'round ... Love of Gold."

Gene Hackman of "Enemy of the State" stars as Joe Moore, a jewel thief who wants to get out of the business and retire. His fence, Bergman (Danny DeVito of "The Big Kahuna"), won't let him go, however. Bergman has already invested a lot of money in the next caper, a big gold robbery. Moore finds himself boxed in. He has to do the job. There is no way out. The trouble is, Bergman has shown himself to be untrustworthy. Moore needs a backup plan.

Bergman insists Moore take his man, Jimmy Silk (Sam Rockwell of "Galaxy Quest") along on the job. Bergman doesn't trust Moore, either. Moore's regular crew includes his wife, Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon of "State and Main"), Don "Pinky" Pincus (Ricky Jay of "State and Main"), and Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo of "The Cider House Rules"). Blane is a gunman and all-around handyman. Both heists in the film are carried out with military precision. The heists are tricky, reminiscent of "Mission Impossible" schemes. There is an emphasis on trickery, rather than brute force. There are plenty of plot twists and turns as Bergman and Moore take turns trying to outsmart the other. The game is both funny and deadly.

Mamet likes these kinds of plot twists, as he has shown in "The Spanish Prisoner" and "House of Games." While this plot has some twists that are not believable, it is fun to watch. Like one of Ricky Jay's magic tricks, it is hard to tell, until the very end, just where the gold is hidden in this elaborate shell game. It is almost too cute for its own good. This film is not all fun and games, however. There is a bloody shoot-out, and a couple of execution-style slayings, as well as some nasty double-crosses. At no time, however, does any of this seem real. Unlike "Ronin" and some of Mamet's other serious films, this one is quite obviously just a game. It rates a B.

Hackman does a solid job of anchoring the film, while Danny DeVito shows his versatility by playing a tough gangster. Sam Rockwell, who did such a nice comic turn in "Galaxy Quest" shows he's equally adept at drama in this film. Delroy Lindo turns in a very nice performance as a crook who is steely and scary. Rebecca Pidgeon, who is married to Mamet, is effective as a tough, intelligent, resourceful crook. Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo, by the way, all appeared in "Get Shorty," another good film about crooks.

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