It’s a love story. But not an ordinary one. The Maiden Heist is a tale of love between three men and the pieces of art that inspire them. Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman, and William H. Macy play security guards in an art museum. Over time, each has become enamored with a specific piece of artwork on display. Roger (Walken) is mesmerized by an impressionist work entitled “The Lonely Maiden.” For Charles (Freeman) it’s a soulful painting of a young woman and her cat. For George (Macy) it is a manly (nude) sculpture he either admires or is completely infatuated with. The problem is that the entire collection has been sold to a museum in Denmark. All are heartbroken at the thought of their loss. “Do you know how far Denmark is?” they lament. But soon the trio hatch a plan. They will steal the originals and replace them with fakes, keeping the masterpieces for themselves.
Directed by Peter Hewitt, The Maiden Heist is a clever, quirky film that never stops being entertaining. It’s a caper movie, but a caper engineered by extremely ordinary men. George, an ex-marine, becomes the unspoken leader, being the only one of the three with military service to his credit: “the Grenada invasion - third wave,” he explains. (If I remember Grenada, there wasn’t much for the first wave to do.) We’ve seen all of these actors playing competent, capable men, which makes their roles here just that much funnier. These are not exactly skilled thieves. Walken in particular is terrific, as is Marcia Gay Harden who plays his suffering wife Rose.
I was predisposed to like this film – these are three of my favorite actors – but that only makes the potential for disappointment greater. I was not disappointed. This isn’t the funniest movie of all times nor the best caper flick. But it’s a fun, light evening’s entertainment – an enjoyable comedy about art and love.
8/10