Diamonds. So Many Diamonds.

Full disclosure, I haven’t seen any of the other Ocean’s movies, until recently I didn’t even know that Ocean was the family’s last name, but I just saw Ocean’s 8 and it was excellent. I tend to love stories that bring unlikely groups of people together on adventures, so this was just my kind of thing. The nature of this movie did not allow all of the characters to have intricately detailed backstories, but they were still lovable and fleshed out enough to feel real. I cared about all eight of them, this team of drastically different people who joined up to steal a highly guarded $150 million necklace from the neck of actress Daphne Kluger at the Met Gala. Each member of the team had a job to do, a particular talent, that made the job run like clockwork.

The Criminal Mastermind:

Debbie Ocean, the mastermind behind it all. She interests me. She says she’s doing this because it’s what she knows how to do, what she’s good at. And I’m sure she enjoys it, it’s clear. I get it. It’s like the feeling of solving an impossibly difficult riddle. An analytical dream come true. (Yes, fine, I’m talking about myself. I love riddles, but I hate math, I’m a nerd.) There’s got to be more though, setting aside the secret revenge subplot, to her motivation. Is it just the only thing she’s ever done? Is it the only thing she finds truly engaging? Perhaps watching the other Ocean’s movies would give me some more insight into the way this family thinks. I mean maybe it’s not that deep and she’s just the leader in this heist movie, but in my experience, there is always more to a good character’s motivation. She is the one who has planned out every single second of the heist, she’s had five years in prison to run every possible scenario in her mind. She has perfected this plan, worked out solutions to any and every hypothetical problem, and knows exactly what she needs to pull it off.

Lou:

I didn’t know what to call her really. She’s Debbie’s best friend, her right-hand woman, her partner in crime. We don’t really learn as much about her, other than that she is morally questionable and has criminal experience, like Debbie. She’s a very cool character, and I think that she deserved some more character development, maybe if there are more Ocean’s movies with these women they will go more into her story. She did lots of things during the heist, but most notably she was instrumental in stealing some of the crown jewels from the Met display, because you know, the necklace worth millions of dollars wasn’t enough.

The Jewelry Maker:

Amita, she works at what seems to be her family’s jewelry store and just wants the money to move out of her mother’s house. She is in charge of disassembling the necklace so it can be smuggled out of the gala as separate pieces of jewelry. Earrings, a bracelet, a necklace, etc.

The Pickpocket:

Constance, a talented pickpocket, stealing from people on the streets. She gets possibly the most stressful job, actually lifting the necklace from Daphne’s neck. I mean, that has to be wildly stressful even for an experienced pickpocket.

The Hacker:

9-Ball, she’s young but she knows what she’s doing, hacking into the museum’s system with ease. She is, of course, managing the computers during the heist. I couldn’t really tell you what she’s doing, but whatever it is it works.

The Fashion Designer:

Rose Weil, a scatterbrained fashion designer. Her career is not in a good place, and she is in desperate need of money. The team cleverly manipulates Daphne Kluger into choosing Rose to design her Met Gala gown, which she wears with Rose’s choice of necklace. Coincidently, the exact necklace the team intends to steal…

The Mom:

Tammy, perfect suburban mom who secretly sells stolen goods out of her garage. She clearly misses life working with Debbie on her schemes. She is the one who becomes their way in to the gala, posing as a staff member she “hires” the team as a fake catering company.

The Surprise:

Surprise! The Eighth teammate was the famous actress, Daphne Kluger, surprising everyone by deciding to join the team at the end. Her job was, of course, to wear a $150 million necklace, even though she didn’t know about the heist while it was happening.

After seeing this movie I’m kind of inspired to go out and steal some diamonds. I won’t, I promise, but it really was a great movie with awesome female characters. I hope they make some sequels, I’d love to learn more about these women.