A closer look at Steve McQueen’s filmography shows that he did not specialize in macho roles. Along with “Moth”, “Escape” and “Baby Bonner”, in his biography there are such extraordinary works as: “Love with the Right Stranger”, “Enemy of Society”, “The Big Robbery in St. Louis”, “Baby, It Must Rain”.
In The Thieves, McQueen is not a confident male. His character is quite ordinary and very infantile young man. Moreover, the character of Steve McQueen is not at all central to this work. In the center is the story of the growing up of a boy who goes on a very strange and adventurous trip with two friends - realizing in it that he becomes a man.
This film is on a par with such masterpieces as Takeshi Kitano’s Kikujiro, Clint Eastwood’s The Man from the Den and Fred Zinemann’s Sundowners.
A good script based on Faulkner's prose becomes the basis for a very kind family film. Well, Mark Rydell has never made a bad movie (except Harry and Walter Going to New York).
Also worth noting is the worthy acting work of Sharon Farrell, who previously played mainly in TV series.
8 out of 10