Robert Redford Boldly Plays Against Type in This Comedy Heist Film

The big picture

• Redford, known for his looks, surprises
  The hot rock
  with an unprecedented comedic depth in his usual roles.
• The heist movie subverts expectations by focusing on the bumbling gang's journey to retrieve the diamond.
• Through Dortmunder's quest for joy, Redford displays his comedic talent with sincerity and poise.

There may not have been a more underrated actor during the 1970s than Robert Redford. Although he was never short of good roles, he was often not thought to be in the same league as his contemporaries. His stunning appearance made him seem more like a product of the Old Hollywood studio system, out of place in the more naturalistic New Hollywood. He was rarely given credit for the ways in which he subverted his pretty-boy image, as he did in films as varied as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Menor The Electric Knight. One of the most underrated examples of this was Peter Yates' 1972 heist comedy The hot rock.

Redford plays John Dortmunder, a master thief who is barely out of prison before his brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (George Segal), recruits him to steal a priceless diamond from the Brooklyn Museum. The diamond belonged to an African nation, and Dr. Amusa (Moses Gunn) is willing to pay $100,000 for its return. Dortmunder agrees to take on the job, recruiting Allan Greenberg (Paul Sand) to handle explosives and Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) to drive the getaway car. However, his simple plan becomes increasingly complicated and costly as the diamond slips out of his reach. Dortmunder is consumed to stick the hot rock, and Redford shows his comedic side by playing his character's absurd obsession with absolute sincerity.

“The Hot Rock” is a comedic twist on the Heist movie genre

Throughout his directorial career, Yates earned a cherished reputation for crafting gritty, gritty crime thrillers. The most famous of them was that of 1968 Bullittthat he distributed Steve McQueen as a San Francisco police detective who was so cool he almost looked like he was carved from ice. That film set a new bar for high-octane action thrills with its famous car chase, and McQueen cemented his status as Hollywood's smoothest leading man.

Given its premise, one might expect The hot rock have a similar style and tone Bullitt, and for Redford to follow in McQueen's footsteps. He certainly had the chiseled looks and cool persona to play a career criminal whose thieving skills are only matched by his luck with the ladies. By then, Redford had become famous for playing a romantic lead (Barefoot in the Park, This property is condemned) or a diabolical outlaw (The persecution, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), and on paper, Dortmunder would seem to agree with these characters. What's fascinating about Dortmunder, and the way Redford plays him, is that while he may think he's starring in a Steve McQueen film, he's actually in something more like a Marx Brothers comedy .

Robert Redford turns a criminal's obsession into comedy

Anyone who's seen a heist movie knows the formula back and forth: A charismatic thief assembles a motley crew to get something expensive out of a seemingly impenetrable fortress. What's so clever about that The hot rockwhich was written by two-time Oscar winner William Goldman (Butch Cassidy, All the President's Men), is that the robbery occurs in the first act, but the search for the diamond does not end there. Through a series of comical mishaps, the diamond is lost and the gang must come up with increasingly elaborate plans to retrieve it. Whether they break into a prison, a police station, or a safe, there seems to be no way they can get their hands on the hot rock.

Through it all, Dortmunder is repeatedly frustrated and humiliated. He experiences indignities both big and small, from being mugged while sitting on a bench to being peed on by his nephew. Although most actors would interpret these scenes as slapstick, Redford gets more laughs by playing it straight. Dortmunder's quest for the diamond becomes less about collecting the money and more about proving his prowess as a thief, and Redford conveys that goal with all the sincerity he brought to his more dramatic roles.

'The Hot Rock' is one of Redford's best films

Throughout his career, both as an Oscar-winning actor and director, Redford used his movie star status to make interesting and challenging films, often with a strong political stance. Surprisingly, he only received one Oscar nomination for acting: Best Actor for The Sting – with acclaimed end-of-career performances a All is lost i The old man and the gun unknown passerby Even with decades of good work under his belt (not to mention his creation of the Sundance Film Festival), it was still easy to take Redford for granted as just another Hollywood golden boy.

What The hot rock it shows Redford was always interested in subverting his screen imageas he would in movies like The Candidate, All the President's Men, Jeremiah Johnson, and many others. In the hands of another actor, Dortmunder might have been played as too comically clumsy or too cool for school. In Redford, he becomes a man who struggles to keep his cool under pressure, even as the absurdities of his situation pile up around him. He is desperate to prove his professionalism, despite mounting evidence against it. At the end, when the hot rock is finally in his possession, a triumphant smile flashes across Dortmunder's face, almost as if actor Redford can't believe he's achieved the delicate tonal balance his performance required.

The hot rock is available for purchase on Amazon in the US

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