Thieves Like Us

I saw this as part of a Robert Altman retrospective. If it hadn't been a 'free members offer' at my favourite cinema I probably wouldn't have seen this film. However, it was interesting. Starring Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall and John Schuck it is the story of three prison escapees who go on a spree robbing banks throughout 1930s depression Mississippi. They are a fairly disparate bunch. All, though aiming to make enough to escape into a fantasy life of luxury. One has been reprieved from execution at the age of 16, the other two older men have led a life of petty or semi major criminality. Initially no one gets hurt during their robberies, but as the numbers of banks turned over rise one of the three starts to use the guns they had previously brought along for show. Oddly the violence is underplayed and deaths are rarely shown. Even in the final thunderous 'execution' of one of the thieves, with dozens of officers shooting into a shack the thief is inside and comes out wrapped in a quilt. This is one of the flaws of the film - these three are bad people, causing hurt to many, but we don't see it. The other problems are that we never really get into the heads of the characters. This is just a story, and I began to ask what is this trying to say? And in the end I wasn't horrified by the death of the main character. My rating: 7/10