Thief

I recently watched Michael Mann’s 1981 masterpiece Thief and was struck by a lot of unique structural features, some of which are were unusual for the time period when it came out, while others are unusual compared to movies today. With that in mind, I thought it would be the perfect movie to do a structural breakdown on.

As always, these breakdowns contain SPOILERS, and are only recommended if you've already seen the movie. You can check my introduction to these breakdowns, to get an overview of my process and philosophy.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below!

The Basics

Director: Michael Mann
Writers: Michael Mann, Frank Hohimer (based on the book "The Home Invaders")
Release Date: 1981
Runtime: 123 Minutes
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3488710/?ref

Movie Level Goals

Protagonist: Frank
External: To complete the robbery for Leo
SUCCESS | FAILURE | MIXED
Romantic Goal: To have a family with Jessie
SUCCESS | FAILURE | MIXED
Internal Goal: To be his own man, controlled by no one
SUCCESS | FAILURE | MIXED
Goal Relationship: Romantic depends on both external and internal; Frank thinks that the internal depends on the external, but when he succeeds at the external, he still doesn’t get the internal.

Three Observations

Feel free to watch the video or read the transcript below it.

Observation #1:

The first observation I'd like to make is about the movie's structure, which is organized into sequences. Nowadays, structuring a film in sequences is nothing new. In fact, a lot of action-style movies are structured this way. When we use a sequence structure, we generally have anywhere from 8 to 10 or 12 sequences in a movie. This creates a tight cause-and-effect chain, where we're not really concerned with many subplots but instead focus on the main plotline and stick with our main character. The sequences allow us to have smaller goals that we move through more rapidly.

Sequence structure, at least in my experience, is more common in the last 15 to 20 years of the 21st century than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. So, to see a movie from 1981 structured with sequences rather than acts is really unusual. There are eight sequences in Thief, which correspond to four acts with two sequences per act. However, the sequences don't always group together nicely two at a time to form an act. In the end, I believe the movie works with sequences, and given that it was made in 1981, I think this is both cool and a little unusual for movies of that time.

Observation #2:

The second observation is that the movie has three main goal lines. Generally, our protagonist has an external goal, which provides the structure for the movie. The easiest way to identify an external goal is to look at when the movie ends—what is the big climax? That is generally the movie's external goal. These days, our protagonists usually also have an internal goal, which provides meaning and gives emotional depth to the character's journey.

Sometimes, there is also a romance goal. Depending on the type of movie, the romance goal might be external or internal. For example, in a romantic comedy, the romance goal is often external. In an action movie with a romantic subplot, the romance is often the internal goal, although this has become less common in recent years.

What's fascinating about Thief is that it has an external goal, a romance goal that's both external and internal, and a fully developed internal goal. This is quite rare, but it works brilliantly in Thief.

Our main character, Frank, has decided to work for a man named Leo. His external goal is to complete a robbery for Leo. He wants a big score so he can get out of the game and achieve his romance goal, which is to be with his girlfriend, Jessie, played by Tuesday Weld. So, we have an external goal and a separate romance goal. In many movies, this would be it—a combination of an external and partly internal romance goal. However, Thief adds a third goal: a fully developed internal goal, where Frank wants to be his own man and live on his own terms.

This may sound odd because he's trying to settle down with Jessie, but he wants to do it on his own terms. He wants to work for Leo on his own terms, complete robberies on his terms, and even be in a relationship on his terms. So, we have three goals that play out rather than the usual two, and the way they relate to each other is really fascinating.

Observation #3:

This brings us to the third observation, which is how these goals converge, specifically in the way the movie ends. Normally, in many films, a character completes their internal goal first, usually in the last act or in one of the last sequences. Completing that internal goal allows them to achieve their external goal, and since the external goal provides the structure for the movie, the film basically ends there. There might be a scene or two of denouement or resolution, but once the external goal is achieved, the movie typically concludes.

Thief doesn't follow this pattern at all. The external goal that Frank has of completing the robbery for Leo actually climaxes at the end of sequence six out of eight sequences. By the end of sequence six, Frank has successfully completed the robbery and thinks everything is fine—he'll deliver the diamonds to Leo, get paid, and ride off with Jessie. It seems like the movie is over; he's completed his external goal. However, when he goes to Leo to get his money, Leo only gives him a small fraction and has invested the rest in a series of malls, essentially keeping Frank under his control.

At this point, everything changes. The external goal is basically done—Frank has completed the robbery—but he now realizes that he must pursue his internal goal of being his own man and living on his own terms. He's not going to let Leo dictate his life, so in sequences seven and eight, the focus shifts to him going after Leo, seeking revenge, and trying to reclaim his money. This choice to pursue the internal goal, even at the risk of his life, impacts his middle goal—the romance goal. Frank realizes that if he's going to go after Leo, he must end his relationship with Jessie to protect her. He sends Jessie and their newly adopted son away, ending the relationship and freeing himself to pursue his internal goal in the last two sequences.

This structure is really interesting and shows how much flexibility there is in playing with structural elements. Thief demonstrates that movies don't need to follow the same template or be formulaic. They can experiment with structure in many ways, and that's part of what makes Thief the classic heist movie it is.