Ocean's Eleven Analysis

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2011)

Ocean's Eleven is packed with about as many high profile actors, as it is with action and plot twists. George Clooney is Danny Ocean, a thief that is released from prison on parole at the beginning of the film. He proceeds to break the terms of his parole by not only leaving New Jersey, but also by gathering a group of known felons in preparation for a very large heist. One of the first to be recruited is Rusty Ryan, who is played by Brad Pitt. Danny informs Rusty that the target of the heist is the safe room for three casinos that are owned by Terry Benedict, who is played by Andy Garcia. Rusty, knowing Terry to be a very powerful and ruthless man, reluctantly agrees to help Danny plan the heist, as well as recruit the remainder of the necessary crew. Being aware that Terry's casinos and safe room have the most sophisticated security measures of any on Earth, they know that the best crew along with a large sum of financing must be obtained. After going to great lengths to get the crew and money, Rusty discovers that there is one additional complication: Tess, Danny's ex-wife who is played by Julia Roberts, is with Terry Benedict, and Danny is aware of this.
The complex and messy setup develops into a churning plot, in which the best thieves in the world go up against the best casino security to have ever existed. Aside from all of the adventure and action, the film shows that the elements of humanity exist in even career criminals: friendships, enemies, loyalties, and love. Regardless of whether or not this notion is to be taken seriously, it is necessary to establish characters with which the audience can relate, in order to make a relatively lighthearted movie about a heist.
During the scene that Rusty confronts Danny about Tess being with Terry Benedict, the audience gets the feeling that Danny has deeply violated an unwritten code of honesty among thieves by not admitting this fact during the recruitment phase. Rusty appears to be sincerely distraught over the fact that Danny would keep this fact from him. In another scene, Danny and Rusty prevent Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle) from being arrested after a botched team theft. Basher nearly being arrested results from incompetence on the part of one of Basher's other team members. When he is asked to join Danny and Rusty, Basher indicates how exited he is to be working with a professional criminal element. Both scenes illustrate the human qualities that help to endear film characters to a movie audience. A similar method is used in the film Lucky Number Slevin. In this film, Bruce Willis secretly raises a young boy that he was contracted to kill. In this manner, the audience is able to attach some respect to those who would otherwise be despicable.
A great deal of the film is also focused on the plot. Being a heist movie, the pace at times was necessarily quick. This was accomplished by the effective use of jump cuts. Particularly, when the crew was being established, the jump cut was a primary element. Danny and Rusty would have a conversation about a certain thief, and then the film would cut to one of them approaching that particular thief. Also helping to keep the plot interesting was the use of parallel cuts. Parallel cuts definitely helped in the exposition that occurred in the final portion of the film. It was during this time that expository narration was also used. Parallel cuts and expository narration make for a very interesting scene combination in this film. The elements of humanity that are attributed to the characters, along with the cinematography and plot, make for an excellent manner in which to introduce a lighthearted tone into the film.