The Last Diamond (2014)

Well executed and entertaining but contrived. There's not much chemistry between the two leading parts. A meticulously staged drama with a whimsical jazzy score. Unfortunately it is not dark enough as a serious heist film, or as a caper it needed the con-artist to show more expression of his love for the one he steals from.

French film Le Dernier Diamant (The Last Diamond) is another example of the French's way with a crime caper film, this one from 2014.Simon (Yvan Attal) is released on parole but gets right back into the robbery game with Albert (Jean-Franccois Stevenin). The heist is for the famous Florentin diamond, 137 carats being sold at auction. The plans for the theft are exceedingly complicated. Simon must somehow win the confidence of the woman handling the auction, Julia (Bérénice Bejo), who is taking the job over from her recently deceased mother. Simon tells Julia that he worked closely on security with her mother on her biggest assignments. This wins him entree to her hotel room, her safe, and ultimately her bed. Wonderful in its complexity, Le Dernier Diamant manages to have humor as well as drama. You'll wonder what's going on when the heist takes place so far from the end of the film, but fear not, there's much more to come. One thing I liked about this is the follow-through with Lisette, the dog. It sounds like a small detail but often in films these details are ignored, leaving animal lovers like myself left wondering.Very entertaining.

This is a French heist movie in the tradition of Rififi and Le Cercle Rouge but with a touch of the David Mamets and more advanced technology. It was actually released in France in 2014 and given that it features a gang cutting their way into a vault via tunnels and then crawling through who's to say that the recent perpetrators of the Hatton Garden robbery here in London didn't see it in France and implement some of its ideas. Leading man Yvan Attal, a veteran of 50 films as an actor, 5 as screenwriter and 7 ad director is blessed with the kind of face that can look villainous one day - see Bon Voyage - and thoughtful the next - see his own And They Lived Happily Ever After whilst Berenice Bejo is no stranger to caper movies albeit more tongue- in-cheek - she appeared with Jean Dujardin in the OSS-17 franchise and she and Attal make a good team. On the whole it's a very entertaining entry and should please fans of the genre.

Nothing more than entertaining. Far away from THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, this pleasant crime flick is not boring at all, well acted and filmed. But unfortunately totally destroyed by the silly ending. For silly audiences because of whom we Watch so many craps - among crime or films noirs, I mean, not comedies. In resume forget Jean-Pierre Melville or Olivier Marchal's atmospheres here. A total waste, if you dare comparing. This feature is not a comedy, and neither exactly a drama, as it is described above. You can Watch it whilst eating your popcorn, and forget it afterwards.An ex con is asked to pull a daring heist, the stealing of a fabulous diamond. The caper itself is interesting, and the characters around it not uninteresting. You find here the usual elements that you may expect in this kind of films. No surprise. Good suspense, and some twists.An acceptable time waster. Nothing more.