Thief - Analysis of the Movie - part 1: Introduction and plot synopsis

CATEGORY: MOVIES; WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

[Image at left from the Wikipedia 'Thief (film)' page; "Thief 1981",[a] licensed under fair use via Wikipedia.]











Welcome to the analysis of the movie Thief. Buttons at the bottom of each post enable navigation through parts of the analysis. We begin with a basic description and plot synopsis of the movie:[b]

Thief is a 1981 neo-noir crime film written and directed by Michael Mann and based on the novel The Home Invaders by "Frank Hohimer" (the pen name of real-life jewel thief John Seybold). The film's cast includes James Caan, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi, Robert Prosky and Willie Nelson.


Plot Synopsis
Frank is an expert jewel thief and hard-boiled ex-convict with a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses (a bar and a car dealership) as fronts for his very lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his dream: a family beginning with Jessie, a cashier he has begun seeing.

After taking down a major score, Frank's fence is murdered. He finds out that the man responsible is a Mr. Attaglia, a shady plating company executive for whom the fence was working. Attaglia is in possession of money that belongs to Frank, who demands it back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia's employer, Leo, a high-level fence and Chicago Outfit boss, who wants Frank to work for him, offering him "boxcar" profits.

Above left: Frank, an expert jewel thief. Above right: Leo, a high-level fence and Chicago Outfit boss.


Frank is reluctant at first, but wanting to make his dream come to fruition faster, he agrees to do just one job. Soon he is taking part in a large-scale West Coast diamond heist. With a little help from the paternal Leo, he is even able to purchase a baby on the black market, a son he names after his closest friend from prison, Okla (whose real name is David).

It all seems too good to be true. Frank's big payday finally comes, only for Leo to renege. An irate Frank demands his money in 24 hours or there will be consequences.

Frank drives to his car lot to meet with his friend and associate Barry, unaware that Leo's henchmen are waiting for him. Frank is knocked unconscious and Barry is shot to death. Frank awakens with Leo staring down at him, surrounded by his henchmen. Leo coldly informs Frank that he, Jessie, their child, and everything Frank owns are Leo's property.

Above left: Jessie, Frank's love interest. Above right: Barry, Frank's associate.


Leo even threatens to prostitute Jessie and kill Frank's family if Frank does not continue in his work for him. Leo tells Frank to "tighten up" and focus on his responsibilities; meanwhile, his henchmen eliminate Barry's body.

Frank goes home and orders Jessie out, saying their marriage is over. He has an associate drive her and the baby somewhere where they cannot be found.

With nothing to lose, Frank blows up their house. He proceeds to drive around doing the same to his business establishments. He then breaks into Leo's house, beating up Attaglia and shooting Leo to death. As Frank walks outside, he is confronted by Attaglia and another of Leo's men. A gunfight ensues. The final scene is of a wounded Frank walking away into the night.


a. Poster for Thief: The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, United Artists, or the publisher or creator of the film.
b. Wikipedia, 'Thief (film)'. Web, n.d. URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_(film).

Thief analysis - part 12: Representation of Abraham and Sarah

CATEGORY: MOVIES












Jessie (played by Tuesday Weld) acquires a baby.



In part 7 of the analysis we observed that some of the characters in the movie are metaphorically depicted as residing in Limbo, the first circle of Dante's Inferno (Hell). In Canto IV (i.e., chapter 4) of the Inferno, Dante's guide through Hell, Virgil, mentions to him various figures from the bible's Old Testament, including Abraham, and states that they were confined to this circle until the death of Christ.[a]

Frank represents the biblical figure Abraham, and his partner, Jessie, represents Abraham's wife, Sarah, who could not have children due to the fact that she was sterile; this corresponds to Jessie not being able to have children. Frank and Jessie's 'adopted' child, whom they named David, was provided by Leo; this corresponds to God 'providing' a child, Isaac, for Abraham and Sarah (this is not to say that Leo himself represents the Christian God as such).


a. Wikipedia, 'Inferno (Dante)'. Web, n.d. URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante).

Thief analysis - part 11: The hidden plot

CATEGORY: MOVIES









Jessie waits for Frank at the hospital, so the two of them can see Okla. She arrived before Frank because Okla knew how to have her contacted, i.e., he already knew her prior to being 'introduced' to her by Frank in the hospital.


Recall that Jessie arrived at the hospital before Frank when they went to visit Okla (see the screen capture above); this implies that Okla knew how to have Jessie contacted. What's going on is that Okla already knew Jessie, prior to the hospital visit; in fact, Okla is involved in a scenario whereby Jessie, who cannot have a child naturally, can first obtain a male partner, Frank, and then acquire a child, all via Leo. What Leo is to get out of the deal is the 'use' of Frank, in order to make money from Frank's thefts. Jessie knows she needs a male partner, i.e., a prospective father, to look better to an adoption agency. However, since she also knows Frank is a former convict, she actually knows ahead of time that they will not qualify to adopt - that's why she suggests to Frank that they leave the agency they visit, right after Frank tells the worker there that he was in prison. She must go through the motions of going to the agency in order for things to appear normal to Frank, but in reality she knows she will ultimately have to get a baby illegally through Leo. As indicated above, from Leo's perspective, Frank is a necessary part of the whole arrangement, so that Leo will get something in return for providing Jessie with a child.

Jessie wouldn't have waited for two hours for Frank to show up at his nightclub to meet with her, if she wasn't Hell-bent on acquiring a child - note the exasperated look on her face (as shown at left) while she waits for him.


Recall that Leo at one point says to Frank that he provided him with a family - he's referring to both Jessie and the baby, not just the baby. Finally, recall that it was Jessie who suggested naming the child after Okla (whose real name was David) - this is further evidence of a pre-existing relationship between her and Okla.


   

Thief analysis - part 10: Okla is Frank's guardian angel

CATEGORY: MOVIES












Frank pays Okla a visit.


Recall that Frank had gotten himself into serious trouble while in prison, and, as he tells the story to Jessie, we can safely conclude that he was kept from being killed during an incident that occurred while he was incarcerated (the 'Captain Morphis' incident), by some sort of miracle. The actual miracle occurred not at the point when Frank was facing Morphis, but instead later, when Frank walked out into the open prison yard thinking he was going to be killed by the other inmates, as a result of the incident. The reason this miracle came about was because Okla was acting as a guardian angel for Frank. A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person. In addition to protecting Frank, Okla acted as his guide, in that he taught Frank everything he knows about safe-cracking (recall that Frank tells Jessie this during the diner conversation).


   

Thief analysis - part 9: Frank wants to escape ordinary space-time

CATEGORY: MOVIES








Frank's montage-like photo depicts various places, persons, and events, from his past, present, and (desired) future life. The photo collects all these and presents them such that they are all 'here and now'.


Earlier in the analysis we observed that Frank is like a 'rat in a machine'; what this represents is that he is constricted in space. Whenever Frank goes driving, what is being represented is the idea that he is piloting an airplane which 'never takes off'; this in turn represents Frank's inability, in his current environment, to escape the bonds of Earth, i.e., to unshackle himself from the aforementioned space constriction.

Frank has constructed a montage depicting how he wants things to be in his life; and, as noted in the caption accompanying the screencap above, this montage has the effect of presenting all these things as coexisting in the 'here and now', i.e., all times and places co-exist at once. What is ultimately being represented is this: Frank desires to escape the constraints of ordinary space and time. This is to be accomplished by the act of committing his final robbery, and then 'retiring' and moving to California with Jessie and their baby.


   

Thief analysis - part 8: Outside the cage looking in

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Frank takes his seat in Attaglia's office. Outside the office window we see a large wheel; what's being depicted is the view we'd have from outside a rodent's cage looking in, with the window-panes representing the bars of the cage itself, and the wheel comprising the animal's running-wheel. This is all tied in with the 'rat in a machine' metaphor that was mentioned earlier. Since Frank is depicted as outside the cage in this scene, and since Attaglia's company is 'L and A Plating', which is a reference to Los Angeles (i.e., 'L.A.'), this scene also suggests that the state of California itself lies outside a metaphorical cage - that is, the 'cage' of ordinary space and time; this is why Frank wants to spend his retirement there.


   

Thief analysis - part 7: Descent into Hell

CATEGORY: MOVIES

























Top left: Exterior view of the Bank of California building. The vault to be robbed lies at the third level down from the rooftop. This level can be taken as the fourth circle of Dante's Inferno (Hell), which is where the greedy are punished, if we consider the first circle (Limbo) to be represented by the world in which Frank, Leo, and the others live. Top right: Frank tells Leo that the vault robbery job will require 16-18 hours inside the building. Above left: The men work their way through the roof while Tangerine Dream's Igneous plays. Certain types of igneous rock lie near the Earth's surface; what is being represented here is the idea that the men are cutting through the Earth's crust. Above right: The robbery in progress. The sparks and flames here represent the fires of Hell.


   

Thief analysis - part 6: Depiction of the Holy Spirit

CATEGORY: MOVIES











Frank (left) sits with a fisherman on a jetty in a lake.



The scene depicted in the above screen capture is reminiscent of sailing. It is meant to metaphorically depict the Holy Spirit moving at the beginning of creation. From the bible, Genesis 1:2 [New International Version]:

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The Holy Spirit is one of three entities contained within the Christian Holy Trinity, the other two being God the Father and God the Son (Jesus).


   

Thief analysis - part 5: More references to flying

CATEGORY: MOVIES










The view outside this diner window looks similar to what one might see looking out of an airport waiting area window at night, i.e., runways with lights.












Luggage sitting on a cart on the street - reminiscent of what one would see at an airport.


It must be the case that the allusions to aircraft and flying in the movie have something to do with the 'closed-in' feel of the movie discussed in part 2: If Frank is like a rat in a machine, he would desire to escape his tight surroundings by metaphorically 'taking flight'.


   

Thief analysis - part 4: Mann's hint to us that there's a hidden plot in the movie

CATEGORY: MOVIES

























Top left: During the hearing to release Okla from prison, the judge signals to the lawyer whom Frank hired, holding up four fingers on each hand, i.e., eight total; this is a signal that he wants $8,000 (i.e., as a bribe) to grant the release. Top right: The lawyer signals back that he is only willing to pay $4,000. Above left: The judge is willing to accept $6,000. Above right: The lawyer agrees to this amount. Left: The lawyer tells Frank he needs six thousand for the judge; Frank hands the lawyer an envelope containing $10,000 for the judge and the lawyer's fee together.



The sequence of events depicted by the above screen captures constitutes Michael Mann's clue to us, the audience, that there is more going on in the movie than just the surface action. In fact, the movie contains a 'hidden' plot, which we will explore later.


   

Thief analysis - part 3: References to flying and aircraft

CATEGORY: MOVIES










This view down a boulevard, with street lights on either side, is reminiscent of the view down an airport runway.












This burning car in Frank's lot looks somewhat similar to a jet aircraft with flames coming from its engines.










View from inside Frank's car: After a heist, Barry opens a roll-up door so that Frank can maneuver the car into a storage area. This view is similar to what an airplane pilot might see when pulling into a hangar.



In Thief, there are several references to aircraft and flying. For example, in the diner scene, when Frank is describing to Jessie his prison experience, he says of the warden there, "If that slob was a penologist, I'm a jet airplane pilot." And in an earlier scene, when Frank is ordering his lot attendant to move some cars around, three of the auto models he mentions are Mercury, Mark IV, and Cougar. We note that Mercury is also the name of an aircraft company, and Mark IV and Cougar are types of aircraft.


   

Thief analysis - part 2: The movie's 'closed-in' feeling

CATEGORY: MOVIES










At the start of the movie: a view just above a narrow street at night, with fire escapes hanging from the sides of the surrounding buildings.













A boulevard with walls and overpasses.












This view of the stairwell inside the Bank of California building is reminiscent of a tight maze.



As indicted by some of the scenery in Thief, such as that shown in the three screencaps above, the film has a kind of 'claustrophobic' feeling to it; the city is being depicted as a labyrinthine 'machine'. Within this context, Frank represents a 'rat in a machine'.