The Split

Donald Westlake's book is turned into a rather dull movie by director Gordon Flemyng. Jim Brown leads a rag tag team of respected character actors on a heist to steal from the LA Colliseum. Edited with a sledge hammer, the movie appears to be missing scenes. The jump cuts are not stylish, they're really odd. Brown is OK, but the supporting cast is terrific, including Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Jack Klugman and Donald Sutherland. Julie Harris pops up (aping Geraldine Page as a tough talking crime broker). It's not bad, but it's certainly forgettable despite the colorful cast. Diahann Carroll and James Whitmore are wasted in a really lurid subplot.

When I looked at the excellent actors gathered together, I couldn't wait to see it. The premise of a robbery at the Colleseum during the Superbowl added to my high expectations. To my surprise, what I got was a dreary and routine melodrama in which none of the characters were interesting. Even the robbery itself was nothing that hadn't been done better elsewhere. A made for TV flick with a cast of unknowns could have it just as well. What happens after the robbery will surprise no one who hasn't seen this type of movie before, only it's not all that believable. As for the actors? Well, of course they perform well enough, but don't achieve the greatness they had in other roles. Watching this film is kind of like gathering The Beatles and having them perform "Chopsticks."

Star and a half Maltin review is a bit discouraging for watching THE SPLIT. And yet it`s great to say that Maltin is horribly wrong in his case, sibce THE SPLIT delivers loads of cool soft-noir. Gordon Flemyng, the British film and TV veteran shapes a posh and groovy heist flick about a post robbery split gone bad. The cast is masterful, Jim Brown does a great Wastlake/Stark character up there with Lee Marvin in POINT BLANK and Mel Gibson in THE PAYBACK. The rest of the cast includes such hard-asses like Gene Hackman, Donald Sutherland, Warren Oates and Ernest Borgnine. So the movie emanates great energy on screen and Flemyng cuts it with typical British elegance, smart and sharp decisions. Maybe THE SPLIT felt too calculated to Maltin, but to me, it represents the era when Hollywood entertainment still managed to assuredly deliver the authentic exploitation of a formula.

Though I think Leonard was a little harsh, "The Split" still isn't a very good movie. The characters are paper-thin, scenes seem to be missing, and the movie is generally predictable. And there are some unbelievable scenes, like when Jim Brown's character "tests" the potential recruits. The lame climax you've seen in countless other movies. On the positive side, there is quite a bit of A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E here, which only something from this time period could pull off. There's a great scene when Borgnine and Brown slug it out. And the Quincy Jones soundtrack is great. I suspect the music is behind the reason why this has never been released on video.