Then/Now: The Score
Then: In summer 2001, the prospect of three generations of method actors in a heist movie directed by Frank Oz was enough to draw this young cinephile to the theater on opening weekend — despite (or due to?) just getting to know this star-studded cast. Devouring film history wherever I could get it, I was fascinated with Robert De Niro and especially Marlon Brando, having only recently started seeing parts of their illustrious filmographies. And though I only knew Edward Norton from Fight Club, Rounders, and probably Primal Fear, which I’m pretty sure I’d seen by then, the fact that he was being mentioned on the same level as these greats was all I needed to hear.
The result was a taut, intelligent heist movie with plentiful twists and turns, and the few scenes with the lead trio carry a certain electricity where the cinematic history is palpable and it feels like something special is being captured — by someone I knew primarily as a puppeteer/performer, not a filmmaker.
Those ends put it firmly in B-plus territory, and yet it didn’t inspire a revisit for just over 20 years. In the rare instances when it would come up in conversation or social media, it received a well-deserved nod of nostalgic approval, but something — perhaps the release of the superior Ocean’s 11 a few months later — kept it out of the “great heist film” conversation.
Now: The above assessments still hold true and are enhanced by an increased contextual awareness. Brando is somehow even more terrific in what would be his last live-action film performance, creating the illusion that his Max and De Niro’s Nick are truly longtime criminal partners. And other than fun turns in the Meet the Parents sequels and Stardust, this would be De Niro’s last notable work until the one-two punch of Being Flynn and Silver Linings Playbook in 2012, rendering The Score all the brighter on his mid/late-career resumé.
Norton, however, stayed hot, starring in such diverse films as Death to Smoochy, Red Dragon, and 25th Hour over the next few years, and other than a few missteps (e.g. The Incredible Hulk and Collateral Beauty) he’s remained one of the most reliable actors in the biz. As Jack, Max’s man inside the Montreal Customs House, Norton is difficult to read and therefore trust, a vibe further complicated by the ruse of playing a developmentally disabled janitor at the Customs House — a choice that makes sense for the plot, yet remains somewhat icky (though much more palatable than Norton’s faux Tourettes in Motherless Brooklyn).
But perhaps the most impressive of the bunch now is Oz, who directs the hell out of the heist scenes — and the whole film, really. Though his style isn’t nearly as flashy as Steven Soderbergh’s in Ocean’s 11, Oz expertly frames Montreal and prominently features numerous visually appealing buildings, all of which helps counteract some of The Score’s weaker elements, including the amusing (yet also probably accurate) depiction of a basement hacker living with his mom and the strangely atrocious vocalists at Nick's jazz club.
Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Available on 4K and Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
4K/Blu-ray bonus features
Remastered in 4K by Paramount Pictures, Approved by Cinematographer Rob Hahn
Audio Commentary by Director Frank Oz and Cinematographer Rob Hahn
The Making of THE SCORE
Additional Footage
Theatrical Trailer
(Photo: Kino Lorber)
