A Cidade Se Defende

"Four Ways Out" is an English-dubbed version of an interesting Italian crime film with a different way of following the results of a big robbery. Instead of following the process by which the police try to track down the robbers, it instead concentrates on the ways that the crime affects the lives of the thieves and their families.

A gang of four inexperienced criminals steals the gate proceeds at a big soccer game, and then agrees to split up afterwards, each trying separately to evade the police. We then follow each of the robbers as their "four ways out" proceed to their ultimate conclusions. The story is helped by some nice cinematic touches and solid character acting.

Gina Lollobrigida is top-billed, but her part is really only one of several roles of equal size and importance. The Italian cast members all do a good job of letting us see into their characters' lives and minds.

There is also some solid direction, with several interesting concepts that bring the story alive. The opening sequence is well-done, cross-cutting between an exciting soccer game and the robbery going on inside the stadium. Then, a couple of the stories of the individual robbers and their experiences on the run have some nicely ironic turns. There is also a tense, emotional finale involving the youngest of the thieves.

"Four Ways Out" is interesting and effective, a good piece of cinematic realism recommended to anyone who likes drama and who would appreciate its very personal emphasis.