When it comes to heist movies, there are many titles that always dominate the conversation. Films like The Italian Job, the Ocean’s franchise, and Mission Impossible are all at the top of the list when it comes to the heist genre but these films have been around for a long time now and the formula always stays pretty much the same.
A ragtag band of criminals and misfits plot to steal something, create a convoluted but brilliant plan in order to pull off the heist, and then either triumph or head straight to jail. Look deeper into the genre however and there are some unconventional hidden gems to be found that break up the formula.
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
In this bleak thriller from 2007, brothers Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) decide to pull off a heist of their own father’s jewelry store. Embezzling financial executive Andy has an escape to make and needs funds. As he’s always resented his father he cooks up a plot to rob the family jewelry store with Hank, who also brings experienced criminal Bobby along. In a convergence of unexpected events Bobby has brought along a real gun and the brother’s mother is manning the store instead of the older employee they were expecting.
Things go sideways and both Bobby and their mother end up dead with their father Charles (Albert Finney) looking for answers. The film is told in a non-linear fashion, with the timeline hopping back and forth and brought to life by some compelling performances from the two leads and legendary director Sidney Lumet.
Cop Car
Two kids steal a cop’s car in this 2015 film but the consequences for being caught are direr than they could have ever imagined. The two ten-year-old runaways Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) come across Sheriff Kretzer’s (Kevin Bacon) car in a field and thinking it is abandoned hijack it. Unbeknownst to them, Kretzer is actually currently in the woods disposing of a body. As the boys tear around the area they discover another man bound and beaten in the trunk.
What follows is a game of cat and mouse between the two boys and the deranged Sheriff as he desperately tries to apprehend them and keep his image intact. What begins as two kids thinking they are going for a joyride quickly descends almost into horror territory as the corrupt cop closes in on them.
Now You See Me
A team of magicians brought together by a mysterious benefactor begins performing as The Four Horsemen. During their elaborate stage shows they also somehow manage to commit large-scale robberies in full view of audiences and the FBI. Knowing that the magicians committed the crimes but being unable to prove it, FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Agent Alma Drey (Melanie Laurent) enlist the help of former magician turned industry whistleblower Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman).
With an all-star ensemble cast that also includes Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Michael Caine, Now You See Me takes the art of misdirection to a whole new level with its twists and turns and over-the-top magic trick set pieces.
Army Of The Dead
This zombie/heist movie hybrid from Zack Snyder takes place in a world where the military has accidentally unleashed a zombie plague on Las Vegas and consequently walled off and quarantined the city. 6 years later casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) has millions of dollars locked away in a vault in the city and he wants it back. Tanaka turns to mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) and his team to retrieve the money before the city gets nuked to eliminate the outbreak.
Army of the Dead is Zombieland in a contained space, featuring a zombie hierarchy, zombie tigers, and the usual backstabbing and treachery that occurs in ensemble heist films. Not only do the team turn on each other but they also discover that there is an ulterior motive for Tanaka sending them to the vault.
The Good Liar
Crime drama The Good Liar from director Bill Condon based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Searle follows career criminal Roy Courtenay (Ian McKellan) and his partner Vincent (Jim Carter) as they attempt to defraud widow Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren). Roy sets his mind to worming his way into Betty’s life in an attempt to steal her millions in savings by faking an injury and convincing her to let him stay at her home. At the same time, Roy and his partner have been scamming another man called Bryn who becomes wise to their deception and ends up dead for his trouble.
It only gets darker from this point as Roy soon realizes that Betty may not be the easy mark he assumed. In fact, she isn’t Betty at all and she and Roy share a history that she is not willing to let him escape. Not exactly a light-hearted experience, the film only gets darker as the truth is revealed.