Travis Simpkins: The Maiden Heist (2009): Partly Filmed at the Worcester Art Museum in 2007

Thursday, September 4, 2014

The Maiden Heist (2009): Partly Filmed at the Worcester Art Museum in 2007

The Maiden Heist (2009)

Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

The Maiden Heist (2009) should've been a hit movie, but wasn't. In late 2007, I was involved with some of the behind-the-scenes work on the film, shot at the Worcester Art Museum (which then had the working title The Lonely Maiden). It was the general consensus amongst those working on the production that it would be a big hit upon it's release. How could it not? Three of the four leads were Oscar winners (Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, Marcia Gay Harden). The filming went smoothly, the actors did their jobs well. But just after the production wrapped, all hell broke loose when the Film's distributor, Yari Film Group, went bankrupt. There was a hope that a new company would come along in time, but no dice. The film was released late, to an extremely limited market, and went almost straight to DVD in late 2009, two years after filming ended. Nevertheless, The Maiden Heist is still a good film... a comedy caper with a good heart. It's certainly under-watched and under-appreciated, but it is always well-received when it is shown. The plot concerns Roger (Christopher Walken), Charles (Morgan Freeman) and George (William H. Macy), who are security guards at an Art Museum in Boston. Each has fallen in love and grown fixated on a particular work of art in the collection… when they find out their beloved pieces are being moved to another Museum, they plot to steal them.