Loophole (1981)
It is Martin Sheen as an American architect living in London. His business partner bails when they are unable to acquire a new large contract and the firm closes. He is unable to find a position elsewhere because he is overqualified. His bills mount and mount as he has two children in expensive schools and his wife is starting a design business.
Albert Finney is a safecracker who is tired of small scores and so plans a major heist. He needs an architect to determine the exact location to tunnel from the city storm sewer system into a bank vault.
Susannah York, Jonathan Pryce, Colin Blakely and Tony Doyle are the primary supporting cast. They all acquit themselves well. Robert Morley has a charming role as the banker who highlights how a grand lifestyle while unemployed means disaster for the overdraft.
I find this to be one of the most unusual bank heist caper movies I have ever watched. The basic plot parallels the 1976 robbery at Société Générale in Nice. Finney bringing Sheen into the fold progresses step by step until Sheen has no choice. Planning the caper is methodical. Performing the caper is methodical. Escaping the rising water as a sudden shower floods the storm sewers is methodical.
It is more of a character study split between Sheen and Finney than it is a tense, action-filled heist. It is not even that because Sheen's character merely wobbles from bad situation to bad situation and we never learn what strengths he might have. Finney's very understated performance is that of a man with a thick shield to keep others from knowing him well.
I like the movie and I recommend it for any person who wishes a quiet night rather than seeking a heart-pounding adventure typical of the genre.
5.8/10
Loophole (1981)
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