MovieChat Forums > Flawless (2008) Discussion > A 'serious' remake of 11 Harrowhouse?

A 'serious' remake of 11 Harrowhouse?

posted 16 years ago by ed_mckeogh
3 replies | jump to latest

Am I the only person who recognizes the enormous number of similarities between FLAWLESS and 11 HARROWHOUSE? In both, the world's preeminent diamond clearinghouse, based in London, is ripped off by an insider/outsider matchup. In both, the head of the cartel dies from the pressure of trying to re-acquire the diamonds. In both, the insider is a disgruntled employee seeking revenge. In both, the outsider is an American. In both, "plumbing" and pipes play a significant role. Sure, 11 HARROWHOUSE is a standard 1960s British crime/comedy, full of gut-wrenching twists, made all the more painful by Charles Grodin and Candice Bergen's trademarked wooden performances. But strip out the humor (and roaches), add some chauvinism as viewed retroactively, and give it a "happy" Hollywood ending, and 11 HARROWHOUSE become FLAWLESS.

Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy the latter. I like me some crime capers. And Michael Caine IS the world's hardest working actor, getting better every day at his craft. There's a lot to enjoy about FLAWLESS. But check out 11 HARROWHOUSE, and I'm sure you'll see that the former was "flawlessly" adapted from the latter. FLAWLESS gets a B for overall fun and a C- for originality.

[–] Fusty_7 16 years ago

No, Ed, I thought of 11 Harrowhouse within the first 5 minutes. I haven't seen 11 Harrowhouse in years, but seem to remember liking it more than this. I think Michael Caine is great, but Demi Moore just irritates me, for some reason (though I hear she speaks very highly of me).

[–] lavashop 16 years ago

I think Demi's performance was measured and nuanced.
She did look like a drag queen at times because of the heavy make up and her age, but it added to her vulnerability.
I really liked her in this role.

[–] Charles-31 14 years ago

The big difference was that 11 Harrowhouse was a carefully planned and executed heist for the money. There were other factors and there is a twist about what you do with that many diamonds, but they clearly wanted to get rich in the process. Flawless was an almost bungling heist for the purposes of revenge. I do recommend the book 11 Harrowhouse. I read it many years ago and really enjoyed it. I don't recommend the movie, it was awful. I read the book first (tells you how long ago), then saw the disaster of a movie later.