Finding Steve McQueen
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mark Steven Johnson
Written by	Ken Hixon Keith Sharon
Produced by	Anthony Mastromauro Silvio Muraglia Alexandra Klim (de)
Starring	Travis Fimmel Rachael Taylor William Fichtner Lily Rabe Rhys Coiro Forest Whitaker
Cinematography	José David Montero
Edited by	Julia Juaniz Kathryn Himoff
Music by	Victor Reyes
Production companies	Paradox Studios Identity Films AMBI Media Group
Distributed by	Momentum Pictures
Release date	March 15, 2019 (2019-03-15) (United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$21,905[1]

Finding Steve McQueen is a 2019 American heist thriller film directed by Mark Steven Johnson and written by Ken Hixon and Keith Sharon. The film stars Travis Fimmel, Rachael Taylor, Forest Whitaker, and William Fichtner, telling the story of a gang planning to steal millions of dollars from President Nixon's illegal political slush fund. It was released in the United States on March 15, 2019, by Momentum Pictures.^[2] The film is based on the United California Bank robbery.

Plot

In 1980, Harry James Barber tells his story about the California bank burglary he committed eight years ago to his girlfriend Molly Murphy, whose relationship is under strain after discovering his secret.

In 1972, Harry lives next to a refurbished theater house in Pennsylvania and is a big fan of actor Steve McQueen. Harry had agreed to the plan led by the handler Enzo Rotella of burglarizing the bank supposedly containing the illegal slush fund of President Richard Nixon. The team is joined by Paul Callahan, Raymond Darrow, and Harry's brother Tommy Barber - a Vietnam War veteran.

The gang travels to California and rents a vacation house not far away from the bank. Harry meets the widow Molly Murphy at a bar, whose husband was killed in a vehicular accident. Harry and Molly happily develop their relationship, but he hides his secret about his scheme from Molly throughout the relationship. At night, the gang disables the alarm system, and enters the bank vault by blowing a hole into the vault roof with dynamite. After three days of burglary, they successfully loot about $9 million overall; however, Harry receives only $10,000, and the rest of the team go their separate ways. After the burglary, the bank job has become public knowledge and FBI agents Howard Lambert and Sharon Price take the case. After a thorough investigation, they eventually locate the vacation house linked to the job and manage to identify the culprits through fingerprints left on unwashed dishes and utensils. All members of the gang are subsequently arrested by the authorities, except Harry who escapes and goes on the run.

In 1980, Harry tells Molly that he is done running from the law and he had called her father, a sheriff, to arrest him. As they get out from the diner, Howard and the local sheriffs arrive and Harry kisses her goodbye before being brought to the detention. The epilogue states that Harry was sentenced to seven years in prison but is reduced to three years after the letter from the Sheriff was signed by the townspeople to attest to Harry's character.

Cast

Production

Principal photography on the film began in early September 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia.^[3][4]

Scenes were filmed in Dallas, Georgia in early October.

Reception

Box office

Finding Steve McQueen grossed $70 in the United States and Canada and $18,566 in other territories.^[1]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Finding Steve McQueen's title invites thoughts of old-school action classics, but this energetic heist picture is disappointingly thrill-deficient."^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[6]