Work Lessons From Heat

Everyone Has a Job To Do

The amazing thing about this movie is there are not obvious good and bad guys. Everyone has a craft. Granted, I don't want to be part of a robbery. The bad guys set up their "Job" and the police work hard to stop them.

No one has a good home life in this film. They do their jobs well.

You Have To Rely on Strangers

In a tight knit crew they needed another accomplice. He was a criminal for a reason. It's weird that the crew are not bad people and this guy seems terrible. He doesn't mess up the first score. It becomes more challenging.

Know Your Competition

The police watch the criminals and the criminals want to know who is surveying them. They don't assume they will get away with their behavior forever.

There Is No "Just One More and I'm Done"

This is not a good lifestyle. Many go to jail and don't want to go back. When is there enough money? Even if you earn it through hard work there is always a desire to make more.

Michael Mann Knows Los Angeles

No one shoots nocturnal Los Angeles better than Michael Mann. Between Heat and Collateral the darkness is almost a supporting player.

Attack When the Time is Right

There is a point when the crew can be caught. They had not taken anything and would have gone down on Breaking and Entering. That would have taken them off the streets for one year or less. You don't want to have the same problem next year.

Work is Like Chess

Most criminals are not well thought out. Couldn't they have worked well above board? Evil geniuses are still geniuses. They look out for each other, don't work with jerks who almost mess everything up again and plan their getaway.

There was a Wells Fargo Bank that was robbed. It seemed a strange location for this act because it was in a congested area. Not far from the highway. Traffic jams and too many lights would probably give the police time to set up a roadblock.

I avoid driving in that area and have no reason for a getaway. When job searches become long and pointless; the temptation to rob a bank is there. If a job is only about money- most criminals don't make much fencing their contraband.

The nickname for a robbery is "A job." With that in mind- you will make less with a W-2. You also won't spend every minute looking over your shoulder. I admire the characterizations and the motivation of the good guys and bad guys. It's only a movie- this is no lifestyle I would want.