America has had a long-standing fascination with heist films. From Bonnie and Clyde to The Thomas Crown Affair to Ocean’s 11 up through Michael Mann’s 1995 classic Heat, the heist film has held a special place in the hearts and minds of filmgoers. Perhaps it is the elaborate setups leading to a potentially huge score, something most individuals would never dream of being able to pull off, that drives the love of the genre. Or maybe it is the typically strong casts and performances typically found in these films, with mega-stars such as Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, and Steve McQueen, amongst many others, populating the ensemble casts of these films.
RELATED: ‘Black Friday’ Casts Bruce Campbell, Devon Sawa, Michael Jai White
It is in the intersection of both of these possible answers that we find Mark Steven Johnson’s (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) entry into the genre, Finding Steve McQueen. Starring Travis Fimmel (Warcraft, Vikings), Rachael Taylor (Jesica Jones), William Fichtner (Armageddon, The Dark Knight), and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Black Panther), Finding Steve McQueen tells the true life tale of the 1972 United California Bank robbery in Laguna Niguel, California. Amil Dinsio (played here by Fichtner as Enzo Rotella) led a crew of men from Youngstown, Ohio, to California to rob the bank by breaking in via the roof. The crew managed to take over $9 million in cash and jewelry in the heist, which was originally planned as an attempt to steal nearly $30 million from President Richard Nixon, whom the gang was led to believe had stashed illegal contributions and blackmail money at the California bank (his money was actually at a different California bank).
Although the film changes some details, including the names of the crew members involved, most of the details remain accurate, one of which is crew member Harry Barber (portrayed by Fimmel). Barber is the focus of the story here, as he relays the story of the heist to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Taylor), eight years after the robbery. Barber, who is obsessed with the aforementioned Steve McQueen (one of several nods to heist pics in the film), down to his look and cars driven, links up with Rotella and brings his brother Tommy (Jake Weary, It Follows) along for the job. As in real life, the crew nearly pulled off the robbery to perfection, only to be foiled by the dumbest of mistakes, forgetting to run the dishwasher in their rented California hideout. The FBI manages to catch up with the gang in Ohio, with only Harry managing to remain uncaught and on the lam for nearly a decade.
RELATED: Ryan Murphy Reveals ‘American Horror Stories’ Details and Poster
The nonlinear narrative of the film, not always an easy task to pull off, is executed quite well here. As evidenced by his earlier works, Johnson can pull off action and ensemble pics quite well, and McQueen is no exception. The film looks and sounds great, beautifully capturing the look and feel of the early ’70s alongside a killer soundtrack. Although some actors are a bit underutilized (Whitaker and Lily Rabe’s FBI agents, in particular), most of the cast are given moments to shine. Fimmel and Fichtner chew the scenery anytime they are on screen, nearly lifting the film to the lofty heights set by the genre’s predecessors, and The Sopranos’ Louis Lombardi, always a gas in any role he undertakes, lends a gravitas and grittiness (and comedic edge) to the film.
Finding Steve McQueen likely will not be remembered as the masterpiece that Heat or Bonnie and Clyde were, but it also realizes that doing so may be a more impossible task than the robbery the Youngstown gang attempts. What it does wildly succeed at is making an incredibly fun, fast-paced ensemble heist pic, the likes of which are very rarely seen these days. Clocking in at a svelte 90 minutes and with a likable cast and rocking ’70s soundtrack, Finding Steve McQueen is a real joy in a year that has had far too few of them.
Finding Steve McQueen is currently available for digital download.
RELATED: ‘Commando Ninja II: Invasion America’ is Ready to Take Your Money