Oceans Eleven is a movie starring George Clooney and his class of eleven team members. George Clooney plays a character named Danny Ocean, a man who is recognized as a known thief and con artist as soon as the movie begins. The movie is all about the team and their goal to score the largest heist in history. The teams goal is to rob all of the casinos owned by Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia, whom is also dating Oceans ex wife. Knowing the task at hand, the team works through their strategies, relying on one another for knowledge, skills, and their individual abilities. As the movie starts, Ocean is released from prison in New Jersey, and has already planned the heist. Ocean quickly pieces together his team of criminals, from card magicians, to hackers, to pocket pickers, each and every teammate has their place on the team. Once the team is assembled, they all have their own tasks, but the team also has a set of important rules. These rules are; no blood, rob only those who deserve it, and do it as if you had nothing to lose. Once the settings are perfect, the team works together to get their job done, and in the end, they succeed.
Evaluation of the Group and Characters:
Danny Ocean gets out of prison in New Jersey, on parole. During the parole meeting, it is mentioned that he has been involved in over a dozen confidence schemes and frauds that he was never charged for. He says that he was caught because his wife left him, and he went on a self destructive pattern. Instantly, it is clear that Danny is driven to perform a heist to rebuild his self identity, self-esteem, after the loss of his wife, just before being sent to prison.Now out of prison, Danny heads straight to the casinos. He begins running into his old friends, and arranging a plan to perform a heist.
Rusty, a card shark, leaves teaching celebrities how to play cards, where he does not feel that anyone understands him. Rusty and Danny go on to chat about the heist, Rusty stating that he is very bored, and so the heist appeals to him; this would be an example of a need for inclusion (text, pg 60). The guys realize that they need to create a group of members with nothing to lose. They decide that they are going to rob a wealthy casino owner, Terry Benedict, who is a very disliked man.
Rusty asks Danny why, and Danny says that he wants to ‘take on the house’, and that it is not about the money. The two go and visit another casino owner/friend named Reuben. Reuben does not initially agree to help out with the robbery, until they reveal the man they wish to rob. Since Reuben does not like Terry Benedict, he agrees to assist in taking down his competitor. Reuben joins the group so that he is included in taking down the man that he despises, and wants to get even. Now with three members; Reuben, Rusty, and Danny, the group gathers the rest of their team.
The Crew and their reasons for joining:
Frank C, casino worker/con man who runs games and will be the teams eye inside the casino is transferring to warmer area and is very motivated by any job involving Danny Ocean. Malloy Twins (Casey and Turk) – Join based on boredom, having pleanty of money from a prior job, but too much time on their hands. These two do not get along, but make a good team together. Livingston – Hacker/Electronics guru who was working with the FBI, but was majorly under appreciated. He feels the need to join so that he will be treated better. Basher – Bank robber/explosives expert who joins the team because Rusty saves from being arrested for a bank robbery. Yen – Trap ease artist/gymnast who is another known criminal, and whose abilities become crucial to the task at hand. Saul – Happily retired and gambling older gentlemen who is close friends with Danny and Rusty, joins the team because he cannot turn down the opportunity show that he has still got ‘it’. Liones - New York City pocket picker who Danny meets up with a job offer. The son of a good friend, Liones wants to prove his worth to his teammates and his father throughout the movie. Once the team is gathered at Reuben’s, Danny leads a meeting stating that the job will be very lucrative, and very difficult, but not something that anyone would regret. This meeting makes the heist seem nearly impossible, leading many of the members to question if it is even possible and wanting to prove their skills to earn a large amount of money. Danny takes on any questions the group has during this meeting and is clearly the mastermind behind it all. Throughout the heist, each and every member is given specific tasks that relate directly to their abilities. These tasks are given out by the group leader, Danny.
In the end, Danny, the group leader, leads a group of very unique individuals with very different abilities to succeed at one of the most difficult heists that they had ever seen. Danny takes on the role of the elaborator and the coordinator, and without him, the team would not have been nearly as successful. Rusty, the second in charge, is tasked with gathering a large amount of information and giving his opinion to Danny, making himself another critical member of the team.
As with all groups, this group of misfits depend on each other to get their work done. If even one member struggles with a task, then the other group members are there to help out. This is a group that succeeds because they are confident, have a great leader, and work well together.