The selection seemed potentially interesting – just shy of ninety minutes with content that well reflects the title. Street Thief seemed at first blush to be a documentary on a professional burglar. Kaspar Carr is a slick, groomed yet street-smart “breaking and entering” pro who allows a film crew yo follow his criminal exploits.
The first hour slinks into the shadowy underworld of the thief. Like all good documentaries, it slowly peels back the layers of both the man and his craft, but in the case of Kaspar very little is revealed. A patient professional, he leads the crew on a number of capers as he cases, and robs, cash-heavy businesses.
The painstaking attention to detail serves almost as a primer to felonious life, with Kaspar sharing detailed trade secrets from target selection to wiretapping. But the character remains an enigma throughout, a devious persona that comes off with the same brute force as the drills and saws he uses for safecracking -- but without as much depth or charm.
When the film takes a sudden turn with Kaspar’s disappearance, the remaining third fumbles awkwardly, tying his untimely death to the only ill-conceived job in a string of successful and lucrative burglaries. Like downshifting on the highway from fifth directly to first gear, Street Thief turns suddenly from documentary into “true-crime drama,” trailing parts and smoke in its wake. It became so improbable I had to stop it to read the Netflix description; all at once, it became painfully obvious….
“An inventive blend of fact and fiction, Street Thief is hardly a documentary, as its protagonist and story line are made up -- but the information it reveals about the criminal mind is shockingly real.”
Faux Doc. It’s back, and I should have paid attention when my very conscious “Blair Witch” red flags started waving. The moment a camera crew becomes an active part of the mise en scene, introduced for no apparent reason, I start to question the validity.
But they did get me at first. Having clicked play on a whim, I earnestly thought I was watching a documentary. It seemed odd a thief would boldly go on camera, but the style was so flawless and the misdirection so complete, I was drawn in with fascination for the first 20 minutes.
After the running start, the film falls short at every turn and fails in the final analysis. After all, it’s not a surprise that an unlikable character in an unforgiving business makes an unfortunate mistake and gets killed; the surprise is that they expected an audience to go along for the ride.
Rating: Three of ten shopping baskets
Medication: 4 mg dilaudid, 100 mg pregabalin
Pain Level: 4
TO WATCH STREET THIEF ON NETFLIX, CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment