How does the maiden heist end

William H. Macy steals the show though. Review by ARN!! This is my third Christopher Walken film in two days and they've all been good. The heist film has been done to death in recent years. Many seeking to emulate the successes of Ocean's Eleven. But this is rarely cool nor clever.

Its not looking for that audience. Its just an excuse for aging but talented actors to laugh at each other and have a good time. I enjoyed myself along with them. A marked contrast to Red where a bunch of aging but talented actors got together in order to collectively hate Bruce Willis. Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Where to watch Trailer. Director Peter Hewitt. Watching how uncomfortable he is around her as he tries to avoid any confrontation about not going to Miami, and then the horror as he's trapped in a corner when she comes to work to ask his boss for time off for the trip is priceless.

The scenes they share together are a lot of fun and add plenty to the overall enjoyment of the film. Another strong scene was during the planning of the heist when the seemingly odd decision was taken to use stop motion filming to capture the proposed plans. It seems rather out of sorts with the rest of the film to begin with, but turns out to be a very amusing few scenes which deliver the planning stage of a heist story in a rather different and effective way.

It's not all good though. The storyline with the wife is built up so it does begin to feel like a little bit of a battle between the two, and the feeling is that it's going to come down to Miami and her or the secret heist, but it's just dropped, the whole plot just dumped.

I couldn't figure out why he was just going on with things and the whole domestic battle forgotten about halfway through the film. It does come back though, but it's well on in the film and that's when you realise how they resolved the battle, even if we don't get to see how it happened.

It works out well but it just doesn't flow with the story and does leave you hanging in the middle, wondering why the plot has been lost. Before she arrives back in the story the heist itself is going really well, a complicated scenario with each a part to play and some nice tension building moments. Some things going wrong and some complete panics, and then the big twist in the tale that turns everything on its head.

Yet this is when things start to go downhill too. When the whole, carefully planned heist has been running for most of the film and things go wrong, you would expect that the film doesn't just abandon all the work it's done to this point, but it does. When the whole heist goes down the drain Walken's character, dressed in his holiday clothes, just steps up, walks past security guards, straight into the area where all the securely guarded items are held and begins to talk with one of the men receiving the goods.

The guards do nothing, just watch him as he talks to the guy and over a rather elongated few scenes, wins the man over by just talking to him, and seemingly negates the whole heist.

At this moment I really wondered why we had just gone through the rest of the film and built up this complex and amusing heist, just to have it totally foiled and then re-stolen with just a few scenes of character discussion. All the hard work that the film invested in building up the strong heist scenario just seems to have been dropped with the handling of this plot turn.

The ending of the film does recover some of the light hearted and amusing feel to it and deliver a nicely thought through moment when Walken's character is finally on holiday with his wife.

This sequence ties in nicely to the when he arrives back home to sit down in front of the painting that is now finally his to admire. Add on an amusing closing moment at the Copenhagen museum and the film comes to a close which has regained a little of what it threw away. The film does start out well, funny and engaging with the three leads performing well in some unusual roles.

It's really enjoyable and when the heist begins there's a good feeling that comes from the film and it does draw on some of that old British comedy, and it works well.

Then, after all the work that's been done on the heist and building up the tension, it's lost by the main character effectively just asking for the big prize, and getting it. I did feel let down by this moment. However the film does attempt to pick up the fumble and bring back the heart of the story, even if the heist part has gone.

It does deliver a nicely imagined ending that ties up the story of the love affair with the painting and begins someone else's story. But it is a nice watch and a good film. Tweekums 4 April Roger is a security guard who is obsessed by the painting 'The Lonely Maiden' to such an extent that he knows more about it than the museum guides and even fantasises about preventing armed robbers from stealing it. Then one day he learns that the museum has sold it and it is soon to be shipped to Denmark along with every other item in that particular gallery.

Roger soon learns that he isn't the only security guard about to lose a beloved work of art; Charles is obsessed with another painting and George likes a nude sculpture so much that he likes to pose alongside it when he thinks he is alone at night! Together they hatch a plan to steal the three works; it won't be easy though; they will have to get three near perfect copies and find a way to switch them during the transfer. This film might not be a classic but it is pretty funny; this is helped by having three genuine stars; Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H.

Macy; playing the three leads Roger, Charles and George respectively. They all perform well as does Marcia Gay Harden who plays Roger's wife. When the robbery occurs it is moderately exciting although not as exciting as the imagined robbery attempt we see in the opening scene. There is little too offend here, so long as you don't mind seeing a man's bare backside; there was one rather muffled obscenity; certainly less than most films of a similar raring these days.

Overall I'd recommend this is you want an entertaining family movie and don't expect too much depth. Just a silly museum heist movie, but good for the main characters. TxMike 2 February It seems like they should have been in New York, but the Boston Museum is featured prominently. I watched it on Netflix streaming. It is ultimately about 3 museum guards, each with a favorite work of art that they study and admire most of their shift.

They get news that the collection is being sold and shipped to Denmark. What to do? Move to Denmark? Or maybe pull off a fantastic heist. Fellow guard Morgan Freeman as Charles Peterson adores a different painting. While fellow guard William H. Macy as George McLendon adores a bronze statue of a nude male.

In fact when Charles is viewing some graveyard shift security tapes he sees that George takes all his clothes off and poses alongside the statue. With that threat of exposure hanging over him he cooperates with the other two. This is just light, funny entertainment, and there are lots of funny scenes.

They are all good, but my favorite is Walken, who is a master comic even though he is more known for his tough guy roles. A very enjoyable movie.

SPOILERS: The plan they hatch is to have very high quality reproductions made of each piece, substitute them for the real ones overnight in storage after final packing, and keep the real ones for themselves. As expected it doesn't all go smoothly, which makes for many laughs, but in the end they are successful. I can't believe this comedy went right to DVD. When I think of some of the garbage the big studios put out and call comedy, I'm appalled that "The Maiden Heist" did not have a theatrical release.

However, I believe the production company went bankrupt. Macy, and Marcia Gay Harden. Freeman, Walken, and Macy are museum guards. Each over time has become attached to a particular work of art. For Roger Walken , it's The Lonely Maiden; for Charles Freeman , it's a portrait of a woman with cats; and for George Macy it's the sculpture of an athlete which so consumes him that each time he sees it thankfully as he's guarding at night he strips off his clothes and copies the pose.

When the three learn that these pieces are all going to Denmark, they devise a plan to switch them with copies.

Since they've studied these works and know every subtlety, nothing passes muster, and it takes a while to get everything assembled. Then they volunteer to help pack and take the art to the airport. In a subplot, Roger's annoying wife Harden wants to take a trip to Florida, and because of her big mouth, Roger almost doesn't get to be part of the packing-switching.

On the actual day of the job, there are some unexpected occurrences. Very funny, fresh comedy with outstanding performances by everyone but Harden, an excellent actress but here, she is over the top. WAY over. She may very well have been directed that way, but that New York accent was overdone. In one of the last scenes in the van, however, she is absolutely hysterical reacting to what she thinks is a surprise planned by Roger.

A wonderful movie, a warm film about friendship, and a passion for art among everyday guys. The movie has two endings; you'll think it's over but there's a little more. I really loved it. Quinoa 17 December It's a curious and odd thing to see a movie about art and and a heist where the art trumps the heist.

But here we have The Maiden Heist, about three semi-bumbling thieves who work as security guards and want to save their favorite pieces of art two paintings and a sculpture before they're shipped off to a Copenhagen museum, and it is just that.

I wish this could have been a movie to really be excited about, for it to be one of those hidden gems that one finds went straight to DVD unjustly and that it should be discovered. That wish is moot as the film is what it is: a straight to DVD movie, deservedly, on the basis of its weak characterizations and direction. It's not that anything is particularly awful or really contrived in the film, it's just that nothing is very interesting either.

The cast Freeman, Macy, Walken, Harden should be the big reason to rent the film- matter of fact, over paintings and heists, the reason I did- but they're only given so much to do with their characters put into lackluster comic situations, such as the preparation for the heist how to climb down a roof-top by Christopher Walken should also be a highlight, but alas is not.

What is interesting though is seeing scenes where the characters confront their morbid obsession or lack thereof for their works of art, like when Walken flashes to fighting off a horde of thieves ironically enough in the opening sequence for the painting, or when Freeman, disappointed, shows that he can't really paint Walken's painting as a fake, only his own favorite.

And the heist itself, while not bad, is a far cry from ones to aspire to see. It's a flawed work that is perhaps just about right for a nothing-to-do weekend movie when on TV, but coming from such immense talents as the three males and one female stars it's a downer.

Or rather, a work that doesn't have as much 'there-there' as it should. Has anyone ever wondered if those museum guards strolling about master paintings get a chance to appreciate the art all around them? Well, that seems to be the case for three security men at a Boston fine arts institution. Roger Barlow, has fallen in love with a painting titled "The Lonely Maiden".

Roger fantasizes about the picture during his tour of duty. Charles Peterson, another guard has also a favorite picture, one in which a woman and cats appear.

A third museum guard, George McLendon's admiration for a classic sculpture brings him to the room where it is exhibited, getting naked in the process, imitating the way the young man depicted in the piece.

Their enjoyment of being close to their beloved works of art come to an end as they learn the museum is selling its collection to a Danish institution to make room for a change in the direction the curators want to bring to the gallery.

Roger, Charles and George bond together to see what they can do to keep the beloved works back in Boston. The only possible way to deal with the problem is to steal the works and exchange them for well made fakes no one will notice. Roger has a problem though, his wife, Rose, a beautician, has been saving for a trip to Florida and she is determined to have her vacation with Roger at the crucial time when the men will be involved in the heist.

One wonders how a film sporting three Oscar winners could go directly into DVD. The culprit appears to be a financial problem that made the production company send it to oblivion without a commercial release. The film directed by Peter Hewitt, and based on a screenplay by Michael LeSieur, certainly deserved a better end.

This comedy main strength lays in its fabulous cast who evidently had a good time while it was under production. The plot is a bit far fetched, but it is fun to see how these three men can pull the caper and get to keep their beloved works of art. Macy, and Marcia Gay Harden make a wonderful quartet of players in this, or any movie they decide to grace with their presence.

They are all top rated performers who know what is expected of them and deliver it big time for director Hewitt. The film is light and funny, meriting a look by fans of the stars. William H. Macy gets to show a lot of himself as he disrobes to be naked in front of his favorite sculpture.

What's up with Morgan Freeman appearing in heist movies that go direct to video? Based on that fact, you might think that this is a bad movie, but it's not.

There are some positive things about it. The production values are pretty strong for what was reportedly a somewhat limited budget; nothing about the movie looks cheap. The planning of the heist and the execution of the heist have some believable complications, and what's done about them are believable as well. Some humorous touches are amusing. Freeman, Walken, and Macy play a likable bunch of fellows that you hope will succeed.

But there's also some not-so-decent things about the movie. The violent opening fantasy sequence seems way out of place with its harsh tone. Except for Walken's character, we don't learn too much about the characters in the movie.

There are some unexplained things in the movie, like where the thieves got the van and how Walken's character adjusted the vacation he was going to take with his wife.

The main problem, however, is that while the movie is refreshingly low key, it's TOO low key. It's lacking a bit more edge to it. Some more excitement or some more laughs would have helped a lot.

Maybe it's best that this didn't land in theaters; I wouldn't have recommended to pay full price to see it in a theater. But if you like caper movies, like any or all of the three lead actors, and you can see it for little or no cost, it's an acceptable time waster.

Michael LeSieur has written a feel good comedy and Peter Hewitt has directed that script with the help of a fine cast and the results are a fun film that has some gentle hidden messages about friendship, relationships, and loving your job.

A Boston art museum is making plans to ship an exhibition of works to Denmark. This news is hocking and upsetting to three of the museum guards: Charles Morgan Freeman, in a subtle gender twist is passionate for a painting of a girl with cats, Roger Christopher is literally enamored by a painting of a lonely girl on a beach, and military minded George William H.

Macy is so obsessed by a bronze sculpture of an athlete that he secretly poses au natural imitating the pose of the athlete when no one is around.

When these three works are designated to be part of the shipment to Denmark the three men pop into action - they find artists to copy their beloved artworks to 'exchange' in the crates when the exhibition leaves the museum.

How they achieve this bold heist is the plot of the film. There are many problems: the exchanged crate must contain the authentic pieces accompanied by George until the shipment leaves the museum, and Roger's intrusive wife Rose Marcia Gay Harden nearly aborts the boys' plan by insisting on an anniversary trip to Florida.

The heist has its problems, as the museum guards are simply good guys trying to prevent the sale of their beloved art works they guard every day. The poster line says it all: 'They're not bad guys, just bad thieves. It is well-scripted full and it is very obvious that these actors are having a great time with the film. Grady Harp. Pjtaylor 30 August Despite all this, it also happens to be a relatively decent affair, one that passes the time with its pleasantly entertaining plot and pretty good central performances William H.

Macey stands out as the best. There are a bevy of strange choices, including plot points that don't really connect together all too well and some character motivations - and actions - that are downright bizarre, but there are a couple of chuckles here and there and the whole thing goes by pretty much without a hitch. It's really not bad for a bargain-bin flick that doesn't know when it was released, what it wants to be marketed as or even what it's called.

Morgan Freeman. Christopher Walken. William H Macy. With three leads like that, how could the film possibly fail? It does. Sort of. When their favourite works of art are sold to an overseas gallery, they decide to steal them for themselves.