Ronin – 1998
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Written by J.D. Zeik and David Mamet (Mamet is credited under the pseudonym Richard Wiesz).
“What’s in the case?”
A mysterious Irish woman named Deirdre (Natascha McElhone) has assembled a group of outcast intelligence and special forces agents in France in order to steal a briefcase for her. All of these former agents no longer work for any government and sell their services to the highest bidder; in essence they are like samurai without a master. Deirdre refuses to tell them what is in the briefcase or why they are stealing it, much to the chagrin of the American Sam (Robert DeNiro). Also among the assembled ronin are the German Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard) and the Frenchman Vincent (Jean Reno). Eventually a series of double-crosses occur that lead to everyone fighting over the briefcase when they don’t even know what it contains.
Ronin is one of my favorite movies, the type of film that makes me love Robert DeNiro even more. Just like in Heat he comes off as being that perfect criminal, one who always knows what’s going on but doesn’t have to beat his chest over it. Always comes through in the clutch. You can tell just by the look in his eye that he knows that he is smarter than everyone, but he is so confident that he doesn’t feel the need to prove it.
“I never walk into a place I don’t know how to walk out of”
This is essentially a heist flick, but while Heat was based on character development, and The Score was based around the actual heist itself, Ronin seems to spent most of its time around the preparations for the heist. All of the agents work together in planning the heist and checking the security around the briefcase, all the while checking out each other too. This film is also built around a series of spectacular car chases through the narrow streets of France. All of the chases were filmed using camera techniques and practical effects, no CGI was involved. Over 80 cars were destroyed during filming.
The briefcase manages to act as the perfect McGuffin. No one knows what is in the briefcase or how much it is worth, yet they would still sacrifice their lives in order to get it. The case is never out of the minds of the audience as Sam repeatedly asks, “What’s in the case?” and demanding more money if he is not told. The plot can also get very twisty at times, but it is easier if you are stable in the knowledge that DeNiro is cool and everybody else cannot be trusted.
Overall a very entertaining movie with probably my favorite DeNiro criminal role.