THE LITTLE THIEF Movie Review

The Little Thief was based on a story by François Truffaut, which Truffaut was reportedly preparing to film not long before his death. It's a delicately conceived story about an adolescent girl (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who reacts to her loveless environment by engaging in a series of petty crimes. The Little Thief was filmed in 1989 by Truffaut's long-time assistant Claude Miller, who later became a major director on his own (The Best Way, The Accompanist). Unfortunately, The Little Thief seems to suffer from a case of over-reverence; the material has been treated as if everyone involved was afraid to touch it for fear of infusing it with a personality or style that might depart from Truffaut's original concept. The result is a curiously lifeless picture with no strong point of view, built around the otherwise mesmerizing performance of Charlotte Gainsbourg as the young girl.

NEXT STOP … Small Change, Rebel without a Cause, Vagabond

1989 (PG-13) 108m/C FR Charlotte Gainsbourg, Simon de la Brosse, Didier Bezace, Raoul Billerey, Nathalie Cardone; D: Claude Miller; W: Annie Miller, Claude Miller; C: Dominique Chapuis; M: Alain Jomy. VHS, LV HBO