.jeri.

This is such a subtly told film that at first I had a hard time remembering what it was when I saw it on my list of movies to review. But the more I think about it, the more I like this movie, and it's got many great layers, great characters, and great sequences.

The story begins with the interwoven stories of two different men. One has just been released from prison, and his guard has clued him in to a possible heist that could be very successful. Another has just been caught by the police, but manages to escape from a moving train. The escapee is being hunted aggressively by the police, who are likely to find him based on the location where he jumped from the train. Fortunately for him, he finds a roadside restaurant and sneaks into the trunk of our other protagonist. They seem to be destined to meet each other, and instantly work well together. They decide to work together on the guard's proposed heist.

The heist is a complex one, which is the robbery of a jewelry store. The jewels aren't locked in a safe every night - their cases serve as safes of a sort, and there are video cameras, a guard, and a type of laser alarm system as well. The two men cannot complete this job alone, so they are joined by another criminal who has sequestered himself in his home and is drinking himself to death. The promise of this job wakes him up and he becomes an integral part of the team.

Meanwhile, the movie also follows the police inspector who is in charge of the man hunt for the escaped criminal. I'm sorry, it's been so long since I saw it that I can't match the right name with the right criminal even by looking at imdb. I like the focus on the inspector, and I like that as an audience one isn't sure who will win this battle - the criminals or the inspector - because all of them are very smart.

The heist itself is great, especially because the whole thing takes place in perfect silence. What a great sequence this is! But things don't end with whether or not the heist is successful. The movie goes on from there in a way I didn't quite expect, and I loved the movie's end. This is actually a movie I will probably go back and watch again for various reasons, and actually, since it's available for Netflix online viewing, I just might add it to the queue and give it a better view since I originally watched it on my portable DVD player during lunch and remember being rather sleepy while doing so. At any rate, the movie takes its time with pacing and clocks in at over two and a half hours, but it's worth the time and never feels overdone. Great flick.