Me? I like solved mysteries best, but as unsolved mysteries go, the docuseries ‘This is a Robbery’ offers tantalizing and credible possibilities as to whodunnit, enough to make it a satisfying investment in its 4 episodes.
It stands as one of the biggest art heists in history and you wonder why you didn’t hear more about it at the time. The 1990 robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum involved the brazen taking of works by Vermeer and Rembrandt, including ones that a rube like me recognizes.
And they’re still gone. So the series becomes more than a whodunnit, it also serves as a “where are they now?” mystery. Somewhere in this world, those paintings surely survive. But where? That question makes for a fascinating subplot with details that improbably involve an anonymous warehouse in Brooklyn.
A couple of guys in Boston police uniforms were buzzed into the museum late one night by an apparently hapless night watchman. Who were they? Was the guy at the door in on it? How much were the paintings worth? Were they priceless or were they worthless, since selling them on the open market is out of the question.
What I didn’t see coming was how the Mob could have played a role. Director Colin Barnicle has an extensive video archive of wise guys and many (now) elderly experts, journalists and even a renowned art thief to guide us through the detailed story. Perhaps not surprisingly, a number of shady characters who might have been involved are no longer with us, having perished by the sword, as one does.
The poor museum director at the time still wears the grief on her lined face. You get the sense that she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in the intervening decades. You also see how one piece of canvas can mean millions to one person, a bargaining chip to get out of jail for another, and something much more personal and heartfelt to another.
This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist is streaming on Netflix | 3 out of 4 Stars | Reviewed by Kyle Osborne
