by Giles Brody
If hacks borrow and geniuses steal, into what category do we put thieves who steal their criminal ideas from films? On Sunday, a daring raid in suburban Chicago was carried out by two armed criminals dressed in plastic nun habits, complete with masks. Their dress and robbery style was identical to those used by the career criminals in Ben Affleck's critically praised 2010 movie, The Town, set in Charlestown, Massachussetts, "the bank robbery capital of America".
Affleck's sophomore film made its way onto a number of critic’ Top 10 lists, but is now top of a less appealing chart. Since its release in September last year, the Oscar- nominated film has been cited as a direct inspiration in three different armed robberies.
The first real-life homage was staged in Gwinnett County, Georgia in December. Two men entered a jewellery store wearing clown and camouflage masks, and brandishing weapons. They made off with $68,000 in sparklers. It wasn't until a few days later when officers stopped a car flagged for auto thefts that the gang’s identity was uncovered. The police found four masks and a black Glock replica BB gun. Seung Woo Park, 18, admitted to police that the heist was inspired by the The Town.
The second copycat robbery was in early January in Florida, when two robbers wearing masks, dark clothing and gloves entered the Delray Beach bank. One robber controlled the crowd while the other went for the vault; he secured $67,000 before they escaped in a silver Cadillac. Their perfect getaway was hindered by police and news helicopters, which chased the thieves across three counties. The criminals abandoned the Cadillac but were rounded up by police shortly afterwards. Once again, one of the alleged robbers said he got the idea from The Town.
The third copycat raid - by far the most loyal to the source material – took place on Sunday in a Chicago suburb. Two robbers, one female and one male, entered the TFC Bank dressed as nuns and brandishing weapons, and made off with an undisclosed sum, which, if the pattern of the other crimes is consistent, was presumably $66,000 (and only 65 more copycats until The Town's copycat robberies become financially unedifying) . The nuns escaped and, as yet, police have no clues as to their identities. Perhaps this time they actually were reverend sisters.*
For criminals to take cues from popular films is hardly new. In 2008, two men were arrested after a heist reminiscent of the opening scene of Guy Ritchie’s 2000 movie, Snatch. Jules Dassin's masterful 1955 crime film Rififi was banned in Mexico and Finland because its atmospheric, 30-minute heist sequence was considered a how-to guide for budding jewel thieves. Logic has prevented real life reenactments of Reservoir Dogs from happening (Sunglasses. Pros: look cool. Cons: only cover a tenth of the face) . However there's evidence that not all thieves are as cunning. You’d have thought that the ending of The Town - where several of the gang members meet with sticky ends - would have put off most would-be criminals. But perhaps they were too busy hatching their plan to watch the whole film. **
* John wrote this joke. Thanks John.
** someone at The Independent wrote that last line. Kudos to you, whoever you are
(c) Independent UK, pg 26/27 "i"
3/6/11
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