Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

dougdoepke Riveting battle of wits. Clever bank teller Cullen (Gould) figures out way to filch cash from bank and get it blamed on a robber (Plummer) who gets away with only a minor amount. Trouble is robber Reikle figures out where the bulk went and decides to harass Cullen into sharing his amount. But Cullen cleverly leads cops to Reikle's flat where they arrest him. Now it looks like Cullen's home free, but is he.Cullen's a fascinating character. Humorless and nerdy, he appears married to the bank and his big aquarium. But inside that deadpan appearance lurks a calculating brain that knows an opportunity when he sees one. Thus, as Cullen knows, strength can lie in being underestimated as he usually is. This would seem one of actor Gould's easier assignments since Cullen rarely breaks an expressionless exterior. Nonetheless, the humorless part really requires a lot of self-control, which Gould manages in ace fashion. On the other hand, Plummer doesn't get much screen time, but Reikle's icy stare and mocking voice make an unsettling contrast to Cullen. Girl-wise, the blonde York has a rather thankless role as bank co-worker Julie who sort of likes the diffident teller, but can't figure him out. On the other hand, Cullen seems mildly interested one minute only to turn cold the next as he calculates what his various schemes require. It's really Lomez who gets the plum part as the steamy Elaine. Not bothered by his odd manner, she quickly attaches to the conflicted Cullen who has trouble resisting. All in all, the plot threads are cleverly woven into a compelling whole, along with an apt ending . And I like the idea of the enclosed but breakable aquarium as a key metaphor. Anyway, the film's an outstanding 110-minutes, whether taken as a solid crime suspenser or as an imaginative character study. Either way, it's highly entertaining.

Jqn_Hgar the perfect thriller with top notch performances from Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer as the villain, in fact he plays the kind of guys that you love to hate, so mean and sadistic but at the same time Sharp as a nail. on the other hand the screenplay was amazing giving interesting characters that you start to care about from the first time you see them, all in all this is one of the best thrillers i've seen in my whole life, i'm surprised that it didn't have the acclaim it deserves when it first came out and i think that is due to all the nudity and violence in it but if you're looking for an intense thriller in a cold dark rainy night this is the one for you.

MARIO GAUCI Like Hammer Films' CASH ON DEMAND (1961) which I watched earlier the same day, this is a bank heist thriller set during Christmastime but with the location transposed to Canada instead of Britain; the stars are New Yorker Elliott Gould, native Canadian Christopher Plummer and British Susannah York…although, truth be told, their limelight is somewhat stolen from right under their noses by sexy Canadian starlet Celine Lomez who is given ample opportunity to show off what Mother Nature provided her with! She would eventually be up for the role of TV's CHARLIE'S ANGELS cult series but she was deemed too hot for the small screen!! Incidentally, THE SILENT PARTNER also provides an early role for future burly star comedian John Candy (as a philandering banker).Despite the Yuletide festivities going on and the presence of Gould, the film is no light-hearted affair and, indeed, is a pretty unpleasant one at times: apart from the abject use of recreational drugs and illicit sexual encounters taking place during a supposedly wholesome Christmas party, Plummer is a psychotic robber who takes to dressing up as Santa Claus in the vicinity of a bank branch housed inside a shopping mall before he is nabbed by the police for rape, assault and battery charges (towards a singing waitress in an episode that occurs inside a gym's sauna). Alerted to his criminal intentions by a note handed to him during an aborted robbery attempt, bank teller Gould outsmarts Plummer by handing him only a fraction of the loot on a subsequent retry while he does away with the lion's share of the stolen money. This does not sit in well with the increasingly impatient and unhinged Plummer (especially after learning, through a TV interview that acquires Gould instant celebrity status among his clientele, that the missing cash holdings amounted to around $50,000) who starts to pursue Gould by contacting him from a phone booth underneath his apartment and even raiding his home in search of the hidden cash.To complicate matters further, fellow worker York (who is their boss' mistress) also starts getting interested in Gould but she cannot understand the way he brusquely cuts off an amorous dalliance (upon receiving yet another phone call from Plummer) or when he fails to identify him during a routine suspect identification parade down police headquarters. But, as already intimated above, Gould has his own scheme to ensure Plummer's capture but the latter has another trick up his sleeve as he send another waitress/lover (Lomez) to seduce Gould into revealing the whereabouts of the money. What he had not counted on was that the two would eventually fall for each other (after laying all the cards on the table – she had posed as a carer for the senile father he had just buried and, eventually, dresses up as a luscious, curly-haired and bespectacled safety deposit locker owner!) but Plummer soon reveals his utter ruthlessness by beheading(!) Lomez on the broken glass of Gould's beloved aquarium (having previously pinned his prized fish to the wall!) and presenting himself once again at the latter's counter in drag! Actually, Plummer's characterization had been rather flamboyant throughout – with prominent use of the eyeliner – so watching him dressed in women's clothing is not that much of a stretch as it might initially appear)! By this time, Gould has had enough and he sets off the alarm system – an action that is repaid by a bullet wound from Plummer's gun and the latter is in turn shot repeatedly by the bank's security guard while making his escape in a crowded escalator. Written by future director Curtis Hanson (of 1997's L.A. CONFIDENTIAL fame) and directed by Daryl Duke, the movie (which contrives a happy ending with an ambulance reunion between Gould and York with the money safely in tow!) emerged triumphant at the Canadian Film Awards…despite falling somewhat between the cracks in the interim until a barebones DVD release brought it back into public availability.

lost-in-limbo Another surprise package from the 70s (to add to Elliot Gould's 1974 feature "Busting"), in what isn't your typical suspense thriller. This little Canadian produced production is actually quite unconventional thanks to some glowing performances, deft plot turns and tautly handsome direction. A placid bank teller accidentally stumbles across some clues that a bank heist is going to occur, so he hatches up a plan to transfer the cash into a container just before it happens. For the teller things go to plan, until the thief realises that that he has been short changed and then he goes after the teller for the money. However a battle of wits occurs, as they try to out-smart each other in what becomes a twisty cat and mouse game. Watching these two characters trying to gain some sort of upper hand over each other is simply enthralling, as you're never quite sure how it's going to turn out. An ironic chain of events seem to occur and this helps keep the atmospheric tension right up there with its well-timed precision. While this is going on, it still takes time out to open up its characters for dramatic effect and it's believably done to match up with the sober-like manner. Elliot Gould might be discreet as the bank teller, but his performance is truly outstanding with complexities shining through. Christopher Plummer also chimes in with an understated performance, but still consists of unpleasantly creepy and psychotic shades. The interplay between the two simply crackled ("Feels like I know you every well") and this is what carries along the narrative. Across from them was the wonderful Susannah York and Celine Lomez was genuinely good. Also there was solid support by Michael Kirby, Ken Pogue and John Candy. Slow-winding and lean with some unpleasant moments, but a cleverly constructed thriller.