Film

Going in Style

Name: Going in Style
Genre: Crime, Comedy, Drama
Released: 1979
Cast: George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan, Pamela Payton-Wright

Other titles called Going in Style: the 2017 film.

Three retired Brooklyn men, bored and broke, plan a bank heist just to feel alive again. It's a tender heist comedy that treats its elderly protagonists with genuine affection, balancing laughs with the melancholy of invisibility in old age. Perfect for anyone who loves character-driven crime capers with heart.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy caper comedies where the humor comes from old friends bickering with easy affection and the crime is played for gentle, sly mischief rather than thrills, a bit like a warmer, slower cousin of The Sting.

Skip it if you want a brisk heist with clever set pieces and sharp plotting, since the film spends much of its running time on the three men's everyday routines and their quiet conversations between scenes.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety-seven minutes and moves at an unhurried, ambling pace, asking you to settle into the characters' company and their small daily rituals before anything propulsive happens.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Bottle Rocket1996

Wes Anderson's debut is a gentle heist film about underdogs who plan crimes not for profit but to feel like they matter. It has the same bittersweet affection for its hapless characters, with surprising emotional depth beneath the comedy.

But It's deliberately understated and deadpan, which some find quirky rather than funny. If you want zippy action-comedy, this moves at its own patient pace.

Payday1973

A day-in-the-life crime film with an ensemble of older, weathered men navigating a world that has moved past them. Gritty and funny, it captures the same melancholy of men trying to stay relevant and afloat.

But It's a minor 1970s film that feels slight and can drag. The non-linear structure and focus on atmosphere over plot may feel aimless.

The Anderson Tapes1971

Sean Connery leads a crew of aging crooks planning an apartment heist, balancing genuine tension with character comedy. It's a caper that respects its characters' ingenuity while never losing sight of their vulnerability.

But The surveillance subplot and paranoid-70s tone can feel dated and distracting from the fun. Some sequences drag the pacing down.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Going in Style

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Cocoon1985

Both are heist films where the crime is actually a pretext for exploring what it means to be invisible and overlooked. The real subject is reclaiming agency and proving you still matter.

Elderly Floridians find their last chance at vitality and adventure when aliens offer them transformation. It's a genuine sci-fi fantasy about aging and regret, with the same affection for older characters as protagonists rather than supporting players in someone else's story.

But The sci-fi conceit is earnest and sincere; it asks you to buy aliens and rejuvenation as metaphor for meaning and purpose, which can feel overstated. The sentimentality is thick.

Trouble in Mind1985

Alan Rudolph's neon-soaked neo-noir about ex-cons trying to stay straight in a corrupt city. It's offbeat, melancholic, and genuinely funny about characters who are too old and tired for the world they're in.

But It's deliberately weird and artistic; the plot is thin and the tone shifts might frustrate viewers who want a straightforward story. Rudolph's style is acquired.

The Grifters1990

A twisty con-artist drama that's thrilling and darkly funny, with an older generation trying to one-up each other through schemes and deception. Sharp dialogue and real stakes, even if the stakes are petty.

But It's considerably darker and more cynical than Going in Style; there's no warmth here, just carnivorous need. Sexual content and violence are more prominent.

Hard Boiled1992

Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung in a spectacular Hong Kong action film that still makes room for character, loyalty, and the cost of the life chosen. It's virtuosic filmmaking in service of genuine feeling, not just spectacle.

But It's wall-to-wall gunplay and destruction; if you're looking for intimate character study, the scale may overwhelm the emotional core. Subtitles required.

Miller's Crossing1990

The Coen Brothers' Prohibition-era crime film is gorgeously constructed and wickedly funny, with characters trying to navigate honor and survival in a world of betrayal. It's smart without being cold.

But The plot is deliberately convoluted and dialogue is dense; it rewards close attention but can feel mannered. Some find the Coens' stylization a barrier to connection.

The Long Goodbye1973

Altman's loose, elegiac take on Marlowe captures the melancholy of being a relic in a changing world. It's funny, sad, and beautifully shot, with compassion for characters no longer needed.

But Elliptical and anti-plot, it's more interested in mood and character than narrative momentum. Some find Altman's approach self-indulgent; it requires patience and surrender.

The Straight Story1999

Both films trust that old age, often treated as a punchline, is actually profound material for drama and comedy. Both find grace in small rebellions against invisibility.

David Lynch's only G-rated film follows an elderly man on a slow tractor ride to reconcile with his estranged brother. It's patient, tender, and funny about aging and the stubborn dignity of small acts of grace. A heartbreaker disguised as a simple journey.

But It moves at the speed of a tractor. There's no plot, no conflict in the traditional sense, just an old man and long roads. This demands you want to sit with quietness.

After Life1999

Both films are fundamentally about examining a life and finding the heist—the moment that matters, the last thing you want to feel alive. The crime is secondary to what the characters discover about themselves.

Koreeda's masterpiece follows bureaucrats in the afterlife helping souls choose one perfect memory to preserve forever. It's about the weight of a life lived, the moments that meant everything, and letting go. Profound, funny, utterly humane.

But It's a Japanese film, subtitled, and operates in a register of quiet philosophical inquiry rather than narrative drive. Some find it slow; others call it meditation.