As a person who watches films for both pleasure and criticism, I can honestly say that right now, at 31, my favorite movie is Heat. The flaws in this film are so minimal that they're negligible. Of all the movies I've ever seen, this by far is the best character study. The story flows, the acting is great, and the shootout sequence is well-done. What I really enjoyed was how the two lead characters discover they're a lot more a like than what they realize. If circumstances were different, Neil and Vincent wouldn't just be best friends--they'd be brothers. Besides this, the soundtrack was great and for a 3-hour film, every scene was crucial. Of the minor characters, besides being a big fan of Ted Levine's, I especially liked the callousness conveyed by the restaurant manager who was stiffing Breedan.
What really floored me about this film are all the subplots. Usually, with this many subplots things get missed and there's always that tendency for casting of less-than-convincing characters. Not so here. The young black lady who played the prostitute killed by Waingro (the first one whom he told that he could always spot a liar). When she tries to lie, she does so convincingly (to the film watcher) that you think she's telling the truth. And her face changes as she realizes she's in grave danger.
I note that this film received no Oscar nominations; this tells me all I need to know about how misguided and overrated the Oscars are.
SPOILER
Even after Vincent fatally injures Neil, Neil is resigned that while Vincent admired him, he still was doing his job.
FOUR STARS (out of four).
What really floored me about this film are all the subplots. Usually, with this many subplots things get missed and there's always that tendency for casting of less-than-convincing characters. Not so here. The young black lady who played the prostitute killed by Waingro (the first one whom he told that he could always spot a liar). When she tries to lie, she does so convincingly (to the film watcher) that you think she's telling the truth. And her face changes as she realizes she's in grave danger.
I note that this film received no Oscar nominations; this tells me all I need to know about how misguided and overrated the Oscars are.
SPOILER
Even after Vincent fatally injures Neil, Neil is resigned that while Vincent admired him, he still was doing his job.
FOUR STARS (out of four).