Stars:
*** 1/2
Rating: PG-13 for adult themes
Run Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
“Flawless”
begs the question: are diamonds really a girl’s best friend?
1n 1960s
London Laura Quinn (Demi Moore) is the sole female senior executive at London
Diamond Corporation. Not surprisingly Laura is passed over time and again for
bigger and better positions; continually bumping up against the glass ceiling.
Frustration
mounts as the old boys club persistently closes ranks. Salvation arrives in the
curious form of building janitor Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine) who has his ear to
the ground, eyes in the waste bin and fully grasps the measure of Laura’s dissatisfaction.
Rumor has it the big brass intends to terminate the girl with nary a fare thee
well.
To that end
Hobbs offers to cut Laura in on a deal: help him procure the combination to the
main vault and he will gain entrance on his rounds and walk out with a thermos
full of diamonds.
As the
vault holds the largest single deposit of riches on the planet a few handfuls
of bling won’t be missed. They owe her something, Hobbs reasons, so why not
just take it?
“Flawless”
is a bit of a revelation; revealing when it needs to be and unpredictable when
you least expect it. Storyline is tailored to introduce some tidy politics; a
smattering of Soviets and South African rebels and heated debates on the tenor
of international trade.
Caine could
play Hobbs in his sleep and he has; color me surprised at his novel spin. Moore
is cool and collected as an ambitious, pencil-thin-skirt-clad Oxford grad clawing
her way to an inaccessible top.
Best of
show is the catchy mise en scčne, lushly handsome shot composition both artful
and clever. Tension is heightened by a run of crafty editing at the heist’s
most nerve-wracking moments. London exudes upper-crust elegance; only the very
final frames tilt towards clumsy sentiment.