First Hit: This was very enjoyable film and made so by two really good actors, Demi Moore and Michael Caine.
This is an interesting London based 1960s period piece. It is easy to forget that there was such an obvious glass ceiling for women in that time but there was.
Demi Moore plays Laura a smart no-nonsense American woman who was top of her class at Oxford and is the only female manager in the London Diamond house. Her outfits are extremely conservative with neck high blouses and jackets with longish skirts. She continues to be passed up for promotions even though she is clearly heads above the others in the company.
A contract with the Russians is coming due and with the strife associated with blood diamonds the company is concerned that there may be trouble in their diamond monopoly. However, Laura finds a solution that can save the company and Russians embarrassment.
However, the Russians only want the top senior managers to know about this plan which means Laura is going to be fired because she isn’t top senior management and she knows the plan.
Then along comes Michael Caine playing Mr. Hobbs a longtime simple janitor who knows a lot about what is going on in the company. He approaches Laura with a plan to steal some of the diamonds in the safe as a way for her to get back at the company. To motivate her he tells her she is going to be fired. Laura doesn’t believe it but when she secretly looks at her personnel file and sees a future dated letter indicating her upcoming termination, she’s convinced. She begins to get drawn into the plan and discovers that Mr. Hobbs needs money for retirement and that is why he wants to rob the diamond company. The day after the robbery, when the safe is opened it is discovered that all the diamonds, tons, are gone she is shocked and dismayed. With more than $100,000 dollars worth of diamonds gone, Laura tracks down Mr. Hobbs and quickly begins to learn that Mr. Hobbs really had another agenda for the robbery, vengeance.
Overall: This was a very well acted film. Demi Moore shows why she is a top actress and Michael Caine still knows how to deliver multiple levels of a character at any point in time.