Loophole

Thief Mike Daniels (Albert Finney) plans to break into the biggest bank in England for one last haul. His team sets up a false office in order to interview architects with the idea they can coax the suitable candidate into mapping out their underground digging job. Down-on-his-luck American Stephen Booker (Martin Sheen) seems to be the ideal candidate for the job, but he scoffs at the idea of being a criminal. That is until he finds out his wife (Susannah York) reallllly wants to start up her interior decorating business. OH NOES! So he descends (literally) into a life of crime in order to finance her dream. The "loophole" of the title refers to the fact they will break into the vault through the ground and set off a motion detector, but when the cops arrive they will see no one inside the bank and think it is glitch. I'm a sucker for bank heist pictures for some reason and this one definitely falls into that category. Unfortunately, while it has a great cast and is well made, it really takes no risks. There is some tension in the final third as rain starts to flood the sewer system and the men must rush to get out, but even that is handled rather mundanely. Sheen also sticks out like a sore thumb and it is easy to believe the role was written for a British fellow (his wife is a Brit after all) and then changed to an American to increase potential markets. Still, it is worth a look at least once if you loves you some men digging in confined spaces.

Albert Finney was an exceptional actor, very good in all the movies, those made in his youth and those in his maturity. Very convincing in this "Loophole" too. Martin Sheen also does a good role as an architect forced to become thief. Susannah York very credible as his wife. All the other actors, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, etc., are good. Some who wrote reviews complained that they did not understand or like the end of the movie. The guy who dies and we see him floating on the water, we can imagine that he drowned or had a heart attack. And Martin Sheen goes out of the building exactly as he tells Albert Finney he will, when the water retreats, you only have to imagine this, it's not that hard. Very pleasant surprise is the music of Lalo Schifrin, which, unfortunately, is not as great as in films like "Bullitt" or "Mission: Impossible". What's missing the movie is more suspense, that's all.

This movie is really faithful to the Robert Pollock's novel, written eight years before. The only book written by this novelist. A book that - according to the legend - inspired Albert Spaggiari to prepare and pull the famous world known Nice - France - bank heist, in July 1976, where the gangsters used the sewers net, the big city intestines, to drill a tunnel and then have access to the safe deposit room. It was a really terrific and terrifying adventure, that Jose Giovanni put on screen in 1979 in LES EGOUTS DU PARADIS. Back to this one, it is very realistic, because Spaggiari and his men could have had the very same problem as the gangsters here...I won't spoil any further.... I like the characters and all the details shown here concerning the preparation and the heist itself. I love the ending, but I understand that many people do not.

Ignore the low scores, this is a good film.

It's dated and seems a bit wobbly here and there, but the script and acting are excellent.

I understand why they used Martin Sheen, not because he is a fine actor, it was to get financing and possibly attract a US audience.

The movie shows that even honest people can be lured by the 'Big Payday', and commit crime. This is what the movies premise revolves around, and does it well. Martin Sheen, an architect, finds himself in a situation, where financially he is stretched by his families lavish lifestyle. He's approached to help a band of crooks pull off a heist in a banks security box room. Initially he is duped into thinking he is employed to help extend an office building, but discovers it's a ruse.

He confronts the leader of the crooks and reveals he has worked out the ruse, then is told of the real reason they approached him. He refuses to help, at first, but after his bank threatens to foreclose on his mortgage, and he realises his kids would have to leave their private schools, he agrees to help.

What follows is a classic mix of heist, greed, desperation and redemption.

I hope you watch this movie and make your own mind up.

It could do with being redone with modern techniques, script and a bigger budget.

This is a very good caper film. The crooks are very professional, and they do not use any forms of violence. Martin Sheen plays a down on his luck architect, drawn into assisting with a large bank heist involving the use of the underground sewer system. The pace of this film is slow, but it keeps the viewers interest. Jonathan Pryce appears in this film in an early role as one of the crooks. Albert Finney is great as the leader of the gang, and Colin Blakly is equally good as his assistant. Susanah York does not have much of a part as Martin Sheens wife. I give this film a nine out of ten. It is definitely worth a look. See it if you are a fan of caper films, see it even if your not a fan of caper films.