Source: Warner
I love the Ocean’s 11 movie series a whole lot. So much so that I frequently designate Ocean’s 11 as one of my favorite movies. I watch it when I’m feeling down or just want to pass the time. It’s probably - apart from the Lord of the Rings trilogy - my most re-watched movie. I’ve never been able to articulate why I love these movies so much apart from the vague ‘oh, they’re fun’, so why not explore this in a post.
While I was watching season 2 of The Umbrella Academy I realized that all the interpersonal drama and all the conflict was stressing me out a whole lot. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed TUA greatly but I was also very very upset. I do get this way easily. Fictional stories tend to draw me in and I am almost always intensely involved. Often I enjoy this greatly. I love to be drawn in and to be completely absorbed by a piece of media. But. But! Sometimes that’s too much to take in. Sometimes I want a relaxing movie experience.
So, I posit that the reason I enjoy Ocean’s 11 (and to a slightly lesser degree Ocean’s 12 and 13) so much is because it is almost utterly conflict-free.
Let me explain. Of course, the movies have a central conflict. We’re not just watching Hollywood stars run around for an hour and a half exchanging dialog. For the sake of brevity I’ll be focusing on the first movie but most of what I’m arguing is true for the third one as well (and the second one to a lesser degree).
The central conflict in the movie runs as follows:
Gang wants to rob a casino. Casino owner doesn’t want them to.
There is a secondary (relationship) conflict as well:
Danny wants to get back with his ex wife, who is now dating the casino owner.
And, naturally, there are some obstacles that get in the way:
e.g. Danny and Rusty’s “fight”, Yen breaks his hand
First off, the conflict of the movie is deliberately started by our protagonists themselves, voluntarily and out of their own initiative. They want to steal for the money’s sake and for the hell of it. Their exact motivations differ slightly but are trivial and self-serving. The stakes are comparatively low because if, at any point in the movie, they stepped away from the job, they would incur no negative consequences.
Secondly, it is never in question whose side the audience should be on, because while the protagonists are thieves they are gentlemanly about it and wildly likable while the antagonist is not only super rich - so he won’t suffer greatly from their theft - but also just. such an asshole. This is significant because it frees the audience from grappling with moral quandaries or reflecting on the protagonists’ actions.
Thirdly, the secondary conflict is of no consequence in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Danny might not get Tess back but the influence of that storyline on the main one is minimal at best. It might be the reason for a disagreement between the two main protagonists but even that disagreement is neatly integrated into the plan, which brings me to the next and possibly most important point.
The plan. Every heist movie has one and most often they are ridiculously intricate and improbable. This one is no exception. We follow the team through its execution and, of course, there are a couple of bumps on the road. Every single one of them, however, is patched over almost immediately. It’s never all that serious, never truly a problem and never really in question that the crew would walk away from the job with the money in their pockets. The viewer is even purposefully kept in the dark about some of the details, so that some of the conflicts can turn out to have been part of the plan all along.
Additionally, the protagonists themselves support the impression that this movie is just a good time. They are mostly calm and collected even in the face of obstacles. Yes, Linus and Livingston might exhibit nervousness and Basher might rage but in general they have faith in the plan, faith in Danny and Rusty, faith in themselves. Especially Danny and Rusty’s nonchalance in the face of adversity communicates to the viewer that there is no need to worry and that things are going to work out just fine, which, of course, they do.
Last but not least, the music and soundtrack sets the tone for the movie. And with songs like A Little Less Conversation (Elvis) and upbeat original soundtrack the tone is very clearly light and breezy. The sound design featuring typical Las Vegas bling and clink only furthers the excitement.
So, in conclusion, what you’re doing when you’re watching an Ocean’s movie is watching a ridiculous plan succeed, thought up and executed by people who are so confident in their success they don’t take anything too seriously, so why should you?
With all the drama and all the conflict and complications inherent in most stories, not all of which feels strictly necessary and some of which feels decidedly superfluous, it’s nice sometimes to have a (mostly) drama free time at the movies.
Satori over and out
P.S. (The conflict in the second movie (Gang needs to make a big score to pay casino owner back or he’ll kill them all.) is pretty high stakes and not initiated by our protagonists themselves. They are reactive here and loss would have grave consequences. Possibly not unrelated, the second movie is widely considered the weakest.)
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