The Score (2001)

	Directed by: Frank Oz	COUNTRY USA/Germany Genre Drama/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE The Score RUNNING TIME 123 minutes
	Produced by: Gary Foster Lee Rich
	Written by: Kario Salem Lem Dobbs Scott Marshall Smith

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Nick Wells	Robert De Niro
Jack Teller	Edward Norton	½
Max	Marlon Brando	½
Diane	Angela Bassett	½

Review

Three outstanding, idiosyncratic individualists of the method acting school who are partly pulling in each their own direction is one of several problems this classically structured thriller must deal with. Together with director Frank Oz, they try to make these somewhat too-familiar movie characters interesting while navigating a script that never tries to hide its fascination for old-fashioned heist movies. The problem isn't this homage in itself, but that neither the actors nor Oz are able to give the project any thrust or distinction. Oz's direction has a mechanical feel; it clearly lacks inspiration and flair. What we're left with is a technically competent thriller of only mediocre thematic and artistic value. Brando, De Niro, and Norton are always fun to watch, but the considerable amount of talent on display in The Score hasn't been converted into more than the sum of its parts.