Bob le Flambeur

This film separates itself from the normal "gangster" film in that Bob is inherently different from other gangsters - morally, fiscally, and in attitude. What i mean by this is that his actions and attitudes towards women, money, other men, and the police are different from the way a stereotypical gangster would approach said topics. For example, Bob is friends with Commissioner Ledru. They have dinner together and Ledru also has enough respect for Bob to pull him aside and tell him that his department is watching him and that he shouldn't do anything stupid. His attitude towards women is also very regal. When his rival in the film asks Bob for money, and Bob asks why, Marc says that he beat his girlfriend and needs money for the lawyers. Bob refuses, and hangs him out to dry. Also, when Marc starts to escort Anne around town, Bob tells her to stay away from him. Ironically, Bob never gets close to any of the women in the film. He even gives Anne a key to his apartment and she sleeps in his bed but he never takes advantage of her. Throughout the film she makes advances on him, but he is constantly refusing. A regular gangster film would probably have it the other way around, where a man would take advantage of whatever he could get. 

He is also a compulsive gambler but states in the film that he hasn't pulled a job or tried to do anything un-respectable in a long time. He dresses well, lives in a seemingly expensive apartment and carries himself very well. So when he decides to pull off this job, the film reflects his "subtle-gangster" persona. There is no stressful build up during the film, only a calm, cool approach in planning it. Everything was very carefully thought over and by the end of the movie, everything was in place and would work. The only problem was that the police were tipped off. The parallel between the way the film works and Bob's character works well in bringing the paradoxical form of a "gangster" to the forefront. The "heist" has no real action but the cool, calm way that Bob ironically breaks the bank at the end drives home the idea that you don't need guns and a new york accent to be a gangster.