(Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)
The gender-swapped Ocean’s 8, directed by Gary Ross has a star-studded cast who, combined, have enough awards to sink a paddle boat. The movie begins with Debbie Ocean (played by Sandra Bullock), sister to the deceased Danny Ocean who featured in Steven Soderbergh’s original Ocean’s trilogy, leaving prison. She then recruits the perfect team to carry out her revenge heist.
The assembled team of criminals are difficult to overlook because of their on-screen characters and off-screen fame. There’s club owner and original partner Lou (Cate Blanchett); the Irish fashion designer evading prison Rose Weil (made quirky by Helena Bonham Carter); a diamond expert desperate to get out from under her mother Amita’s thumb (Mindy Kaling); master hacker Nineball (Rihanna); pickpocketing skater Constance (brought to life by Awkwafina); fence and stay-at-home mum Tammy (Sarah Paulson); and Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), a bimbo-like starlet who is full of surprises.
When Ocean is asked if she would like a man on the team she says: “A him gets noticed, a her gets ignored and for once we want to be ignored.” This is followed by a crime sequence where almost none of the women are ignored at all, especially when they strut out of the MET gala decked in gorgeous gowns. They count on distraction, sleight of hand and exclamations in German to carry off “the biggest jewellery heist in history”.
With a cast of comedic treasures, you would expect a level of banter and bonding that will entertain and show character development, or at least some depth into these women are. But the film does not quite deliver. It has all the hallmarks of a heist, with a montage of introducing the members, a walk-through of the plan while the heist is on and even a twist, but no snappy dialogue or dynamic scene transitions. Suave conversations have been replaced by ad-like chats about Tinder and Subway. With no actual team connection or growth, the girl gang suddenly moves as one unit to get the job done.
Satisfaction, felt at the end of the gender-swapped Ghostbusters, is missing here. There are no flashbacks to flesh out characters, such a waste considering the wealth of talent at the director’s disposal. What Ocean’s 8 does achieve is a sense of normalcy around women doing what is thought to be a man’s job, albeit in a world of crime. There is no sneer of disbelief or any sarcastic derision which says, “Eight women? Really?” It feels normal. Perhaps normal to the point of making you feel like there is nothing special about the plot. But that is still a step forward.
Director Gary Ross
Cast Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Awkwafina, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway
Running time 110 minutes
'Ocean's 8' is showing now in major cinemas.
