Joe Moore runs a ring of professional thieves, which includes Bobby Blane, Don "Pinky" Pincus and Joe's wife Fran. During a robbery of a New York Cityjewelry store, Joe's face is captured by a security camera after he takes off his mask in an attempt to distract the store's last remaining employee. As both the picture and a witness can identify him, Joe retires from crime and plans to disappear on his sail boat with his wife. This does not sit well with Joe's fence, Mickey Bergman, who runs a garment business as a front. After accruing a number of expenses in setting up another robbery, Bergman decides to withhold the payment due to Joe and his crew. He insists they go through with the other job — robbing an airplane carrying a large shipment of gold. Bergman further insists that his nephew, Jimmy Silk, be a part of the crew. Joe accepts, but a series of shifting loyalties changes the complexity of their task, including Jimmy's interest in Joe's wife and Bergman and Jimmy's belief that Joe's skills are declining. They attempt to rob the plane twice. In their first attempt, while setting up explosive devices along the border of the airport, they are stopped by a passing officer. While Joe and Bobby talk the officer into leaving, an agitated Jimmy draws his gun but is stopped by Pinky. He forces his team out of finishing the job after he finds out that Pinky didn't destroy the getaway car, covered in the team's fingerprints. Bergman doesn't accept the team's departure and forces them to finish the job. The plane robbery is a series of misdirects. Pinky poses as a guard while Joe, Bobby, and Jimmy pose as airport security personnel. They stop the jet, pretending to be responding to an emergency. They fill a van with what they take from the plane, then move the van to a rented garage on the airport grounds, where they re-brand it and call for a tow truck to have it hauled away. Jimmy betrays the others to steal the gold and Fran. He knocks out Joe and tells Fran he knew Joe changed the plan, including Fran seducing him. He and Fran take the van, but Jimmy finds out that the hidden compartments are filled with metal washers. Joe avoids arrest and returns to the plane in disguise. He and Bobby remove a shipment of goods they had booked on board the same Swiss flight, which they insist now must be driven to its destination due to the plane's delay. Inside the shipment is the stolen gold, which Joe and Bobby melt into long rods. Bergman apprehends Pinky, who is walking his niece to the school bus. Pinky discloses the plan in order to save his niece, though he is killed after. Bergman and his crew arrive at Joe's sail boat along with Jimmy and Fran, where they hold Joe at gunpoint. They assume that the boat's golden railings are the gold. Fran leaves with Jimmy, pleading with Bergman to let Joe go. Just as Bergman discovers that the railings are not the gold, a hidden Bobby opens fire. Bergman's men are killed and Joe kills Bergman. Bobby gives Joe the address to send his share. Joe waits to meet Fran with a truck filled with black-painted rods. Fran has taken up with Jimmy for real and they take the truck from Joe at gunpoint. Joe gets into a second truck to leave. A black bar in the truck scrapes the garage door, revealing gold underneath. Joe lifts a tarp in the truck bed, revealing the gold rods. He covers the rods with the tarpaulin and drives away.
agreed to finance the film as long as it starred Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito. David Mamet enjoyed big creative freedom throughout production, because Franchise Pictures didn't creatively interfere with him, only requiring him to finish the film within a certain budget. The film, set mostly in and around Boston, was shot in Montreal. The opening scene, showcasing a New York City jewelry store robbery, was filmed in an Old Montreal building in the process of being renovated into a hotel. The airport scenes, set at Boston's Logan Airport, were filmed at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport. The film was able to make profit via international pre-sales before it was finished.
Reception
Critical response
According to Rotten Tomatoes, critical reaction for Heist was mixed, with an overall 65% approval rating. The website's critical consensus summary was that "Heist didn't cover any new ground, but the cast and Mamet's expertise with witty banter make it worthwhile." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 66/100 based on 33 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times, said "Heist is the kind of caper movie that was made before special effects replaced wit, construction and intelligence. This movie is made out of fresh ingredients, not cake mix. Despite the twists of its plot, it is about its characters." He went on to praise Mamet's trademark verbal constructions, his restrained approach to on-screen gunplay, and the care that he takes in shaping the relationships between the principals.
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film opened at number 5, it grossed $7,823,521 in 1,891 theaters in the United States. The film became the highest-grossing David Mamet-directed film in the United States. In total it had a worldwide gross of $28,510,652, significantly lower than the film's production budget of $39 million.
Home video
The film generated more than $72 million in home video rentals in the United States.
