Bert Remsen

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Classic DVD: Thieves Like Us (1974)

October 18, 2010 in Film | Permalink

It's hard to imagine 1970's American cinema without Shelley Duvall and Louise Fletcher.

Often unfairly consigned to the middle or back of the Robert Altman catalog, Thieves Like Us is a stellar Depression Era drama that’s low-key, atmospheric and sometimes funny, even if it lacks many of the director’s trademark touches. There’s no ceaseless patter or cross-cutting plots, but the relatively straightforward film is undeniably rich.

T-Dub (Bert Remsen), Chickamaw (John Shuck) and Bowie (Keith Carradine) are a trio of cons who form a Deep South crime spree during the 1930s. The guys might not have any money in the bank, but they don’t mind helping themselves–at the point of a gun–to whatever happens to be lying around in the vault. But these aren’t men with merely crime on their mind–they’re also lovers. The youngest con, Bowie, for instance, finds romance with a strange girl (Shelley Duvall) who chain-smokes cigarettes and inhales Coca-Cola. Just as Bowie considers getting out of a life of crime, he may not have that option. As their infamy grows and the fellows become sloppy, it’s just a matter of time until they’ve made their final withdrawal.

Thieves Like Us manages to be very much a film of it’s time, with great supporting turns by ’70s stalwarts like Duvall and Louise Fletcher, as well as a film with an authentic feel for the era in which it’s set. But like the best of Altman, ultimately, the movie feels timeless, like a wave of ideas and emotions that exists in a realm all its own. (Available from Netflix and other outlets.)

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