Ocean’s 8

Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala.

Cast

Sandra Bullock – Debbie Ocean

Cate Blanchett – Lou Miller

Anne Hathaway – Daphne Kluger

Sarah Paulson – Tammy

Helena Bonham Carter – Rose Weil

Mindy Kaling – Amita

Rihanna – Leslie / Nine Ball

Awkwafina – Constance

Oceans Apart

When I first spotted the poster advertising this movie I paused and stared at it for a few seconds. And immediately judged the book by its cover. Why? Because each individual character on the poster was posing separately, a solo shot. Instead of the cast being photgraphed together, their  in-character stills had clearly been taken at their individual times and places – then fused together to promote the movie. And yet remaining oceans apart from each other. Not that I’m an advertising critic also, but this was the first striking thing I noticed about Ocean’s 8. And it got me wondering what the actual movie would be like..

Ocean’s 8 isn’t terrible. In fact it’s damn watchable. With eight women who each bring something different to the movie in terms of style and comedy, the entertainment remains solid until the closing credits. Blanchett and Bullock play the leading ladies superbly whilst toning down the energy they usually carry films with, allowing the other six actresses to uphold this one. But Ocean’s 8 does run the risk of becoming a feminist affair, with an all-female cast who immerse the viewer in timeless topics such as motherhood, career women, wealth, stature and even the model parent.

The cast involves almost no male presence but the ladies know what they’re doing, and they do it well. Bullock feels slightly divided from the rest of them however, playing the sister of previous Ocean’s Twelve Danny. She adopts more solemn characteristics for the role compared to everyone else, but is one hell of a slick ringleader. And her final scene involving her brother (is he alive or not?) is a good ‘curtain down’ moment too. The way in which she stares at his memorial plaque and mumbles that he’d better be in there adds a dash of dry humour to an otherwise emotional moment. Good stuff.

Ocean’s 8 is not brilliant – at all. But at the same time it isn’t dire. The action is delivered nicely in bitesize moments, brought on by each character being introduced with their own brief background story and eventually coming together to pull off the main heist. It fits together well. And the heist is worth a watch too, with the group of cheeky women getting one over on the pompous event owners with a little feminine flair.