The problems stem from ragged storytelling, a surfeit of silly epigrams and a jangle of accents and cultures that leaves you wondering where Mr. Nolte's strangulated crook fits in.

The Good Thief is worth seeing, if only for Nolte's turn as the loveable de-toxing rogue.

While Jordan's repeated freeze-frames try a little too hard for nonchalance, the overall cocktail of Gallic insouciance and American film noir grit delivers such relaxant properties you forgive a few foibles.

... the effortless filmmaking that gives the film a momentum you never even notice as it succinctly covers its ornate web of narrative complications.