Jessie tells him she can’t have children. It is the one thing that slows the dogged pursuit of his own self doubt. Frank assures her that he is one big heist away from being able to retire in style.Īnd style is very important to Frank. Jessie too, has a criminal past that she has been keeping at a respectable distance. Her name is Jessie (Tuesday Weld) and Frank pursues her immediately, with blatant determination so honest, so desperate that she agrees to be his soulmate on a whim. There is an attraction, a familiarity, though they do not know each other. To that end he becomes acquainted with a pretty cashier/hostess in the cafe where he takes his meals. And he stays clear of the mob.įrank lives very comfortably. He deals only in cash and diamonds that he procures with a skeleton crew of trusted professionals in elaborate, carefully orchestrated heists. The only footsteps he hears behind him are from Father Time.įrank, takes down big scores. In Michael Mann’s 1981 debut feature film, Thief (1981), Caan’s “Frank” is a career criminal on top of his game. And that made him a blue-collar superstar in the late 60’s to the early 80’s and fueled his resurgence in the 90’s. A tender heart and a threadbare vulnerability differentiated him and his characters, making it almost impossible to root against them and–existentially–him. James Caan is one of many Hollywood tough guys–on screen and off.
…And if my mother was alive, she’d be his age now, which is 80.
I don’t know much about his life other than he was born and reared in the Bronx and that he has a reputation of being a tough guy. I grew up with James Caan, in a manner of speaking that is to say, I grew up with him the way we all did…while watching his films.
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