While no classic, The Thief was quite an interesting little film. Although the story is on the hokey side with a plot line that is quite familiar in a way, and I think The Thief could have been shorter to make Allan Field's character's motivation clearer perhaps, the film does have its fair share of tense and suspenseful moments and has a clever little twist as well.
What makes The Thief so interesting is that instead of dialogue, The Thief relies on its narration, sound effects, creation of ambiance and intelligence of the audience to convey its point. All of this is done in an intelligent way, with the narration well-written and clear and the sound effects well-judged with none of them feeling out of place to spoil the mood.
The Thief is very well made. Its use of camera work and editing is quite innovative in the use of angles, while the lighting and scenery/sets are quite striking. The music is outstanding and appropriately moody, conveying the titular character's state of mind wonderfully and in a somewhat unnerving way, while Russell Rouse directs very well and makes interesting use of the film's gimmick, which on the whole I think does work. The acting is very good, even without dialogue the facial expressions, gestures and eye contact of Ray Milland in the lead and the likes of Martin Gabel, Harry Bronson and Rita Gam speak volumes.
In conclusion, while not entirely succeeding at what it set out to do, The Thief is an altogether interesting little movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox
What makes The Thief so interesting is that instead of dialogue, The Thief relies on its narration, sound effects, creation of ambiance and intelligence of the audience to convey its point. All of this is done in an intelligent way, with the narration well-written and clear and the sound effects well-judged with none of them feeling out of place to spoil the mood.
The Thief is very well made. Its use of camera work and editing is quite innovative in the use of angles, while the lighting and scenery/sets are quite striking. The music is outstanding and appropriately moody, conveying the titular character's state of mind wonderfully and in a somewhat unnerving way, while Russell Rouse directs very well and makes interesting use of the film's gimmick, which on the whole I think does work. The acting is very good, even without dialogue the facial expressions, gestures and eye contact of Ray Milland in the lead and the likes of Martin Gabel, Harry Bronson and Rita Gam speak volumes.
In conclusion, while not entirely succeeding at what it set out to do, The Thief is an altogether interesting little movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox