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In 1960 London, life isn’t all that easy for an ambitious woman. For Laura Quinn (Demi Moore), the only female manager at the London Diamond Corporation, it means getting passed over time and time again for the promotion she deserves. Still, she keeps showing up early and staying late, hoping that someone will finally take notice and reward her for her hard work. Instead, however, she learns that one of her own brilliant ideas is about to get her fired—leaving her reputation so damaged that she’ll be unable to get another job.
Aware of Laura’s situation—and her uncertain future—the company’s night janitor, Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine), shares his plan to steal from the company. It’s not a big deal, he tells her. The company won’t notice that a few diamonds are missing—but it’ll let him retire comfortably, and it’ll pay her bills until she can find another job.
The plan sounds so simple—and so foolproof—that Laura just can’t resist. But when problems arise, she begins to realize that everything is completely out of her control.
Now, in order for a heist movie to be truly successful, it needs to be either really fun or really smart. And, unfortunately, Flawless is neither. It doesn’t have the youthful star power (or the humor…or the glitz) of the Ocean’s trilogy, nor will it leave you breathless and amazed by its sheer brilliance. Sure, it has some great moments, but it’s far from deserving of its title.
Instead of starting off with a bang, Flawless starts with Demi Moore in bad old-lady makeup, talking about her time at London Diamond with a young reporter. The story then jumps back in time, where it continues to build slowly, droning through an overwhelming amount of back-story and political information before finally getting to the good stuff. If Moore were at her best, perhaps she could have kept things interesting in the beginning—but her cold, stiff character just isn’t all that exciting. Fortunately, though, Michael Caine manages to bring the movie to life—and once he’s involved, things start to pick up.
Though the film is never exactly fast-paced, for a while, it’s absolutely mesmerizing. I’m sure Caine has something to do with that—but the story also starts to throw some unexpected curveballs that are sure to make you sit up and take notice. I know I did. And if it had kept up the suspense through the rest of the movie, it would have won me over. Unfortunately, those mesmerizing moments are short-lived—and it didn’t take long for me to put all the pieces together.
So while Flawless does have some brilliant moments, it takes a little too long to get to them—and they’re over just a bit too soon. And, unfortunately, despite another cheeky performance by the always-delightful Michael Caine, Flawless just isn’t the sparkling gem that I’d hoped it would be.
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