Film
Out of Sight
Soderbergh's cool, sun-bleached crime romance, adapted from Elmore Leonard, where a bank robber and a federal marshal spend far more time circling each other than the plot demands. Told with a non-linear editing trick that keeps replaying its own best moment, it's slinky, funny, and unhurried — a heist movie that's really foreplay. For anyone who wants their crime story to smoulder.
If you liked this
Jackie Brown1997
Another Elmore Leonard novel turned into a film that trusts its criminals to be funny, weary, and human — Pam Grier commands every scene the way Lopez commands hers here. Same source DNA, same unhurried cool.
But Tarantino's dialogue is chattier and the violence blunter than Soderbergh's, so if you came for romance you'll find it thinner.

Ocean's Eleven2001
Clooney and Soderbergh reunited three years later for pure heist glamour — less romance, more ensemble swagger, but the same silky confidence and love of a well-dressed con.
But The chemistry is between a crew, not a couple, so the slow-burn tension that makes Out of Sight sing is mostly absent.

Get Shorty1995
Another Elmore Leonard adaptation, this one swapping heat for laughs, following a loan shark who wanders into Hollywood and discovers crime and moviemaking are basically the same racket.
But It's broader comedy than crime drama, landing more like a sly farce than a smoky romance.

The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
To Catch a Thief1955
Both films run on the same engine — a lawman-adjacent woman and a charming thief circling each other, unsure if they're playing a game or falling for real. This is where that template got its polish.
Hitchcock's jewel-thief romance did this exact dance decades earlier — a suspected criminal and the woman investigating him, trading double entendres against Riviera scenery instead of Detroit warehouses.
But It's much more chaste and mannered, all suggestion and no follow-through, which might feel quaint after Soderbergh's frankness.

More like this (8)
The Thomas Crown Affair1999no page yet
A thief and the investigator chasing him fall into genuine desire while playing an elaborate game of wits — same premise, glossier surface, Brosnan and Russo instead of Clooney and Lopez.
But It's slicker and more polished, missing the scuzzy, lived-in texture that makes Out of Sight feel dangerous.
True Romance1993
Written by Tarantino, this is crime-as-romance turned up loud — two people falling hard while the world around them burns, with quotable dialogue and real heat.
But It's messier and far more violent, trading Soderbergh's control for chaos and blood.

Logan Lucky2017
Soderbergh again, but the con men are broke Appalachian brothers pulling off a NASCAR heist — same directorial wit, same love of a plan going sideways, entirely different accent.
But There's no central romance driving it, and the tone is warmer and goofier than Out of Sight's smoke.

The Town2010
Ben Affleck's bank robber falls for a woman connected to one of his own crimes, balancing heist mechanics against genuine, complicated feeling much like Soderbergh does.
But It's grittier and more Boston-tough, without the playful, flirtatious dialogue that makes Out of Sight fun.

Sexy Beast2001
A British crime film soaked in menace and dark comedy, about a retired thief pulled back into one last job — less romance, more dread, but the same interest in criminals as people.
But Ben Kingsley's villain is terrifying rather than charming, so the tone skews far darker than the breezy chemistry you came for.

Set It Off1996
Four women pull off bank jobs to escape their circumstances, and the film treats its criminals with the same warmth and specificity Soderbergh gives Foley and Sisco.
But It's heavier on social realism and tragedy, without the flirtatious back-and-forth that defines Out of Sight.

Lupin2021
Same charismatic-criminal-as-hero structure, transplanted into serialized French television — proof the likeable-con-man-outsmarting-everyone formula travels across language and format intact.
A French Netflix series following a suave, disguise-loving thief inspired by Arsène Lupin, pulling elaborate cons through Paris with the same charm-first, plan-second energy as Foley.
But It leans further into pulpy adventure than romantic tension, and subtitles or dubbing may be a barrier if you want easy comfort viewing.

Wild Things1998
Both films use sexual tension between investigator and suspect as the plot's real engine; Wild Things just strips away the wit and control to show what that premise looks like at its most lurid.
Released the same year, this trashy erotic thriller turns cop-and-suspect cat-and-mouse into pure pulp, swapping Soderbergh's control for sweaty Florida noir excess and constant double-crosses.
But It's genuinely trashy — campy performances, gratuitous content, and twists that exist purely to shock rather than deepen character.

People
Cast
George ClooneyJack Foley
Jennifer LopezKaren Sisco
Ving RhamesBuddy Bragg
Don CheadleMaurice 'Snoopy' Miller
Steve ZahnGlenn Michaels
Dennis FarinaMarshall Sisco
Catherine KeenerAdele Delisi
Isaiah WashingtonKenneth
Albert BrooksRichard Ripley
Luis GuzmánJosé 'Chino' Chirino
Viola DavisMoselle
Nancy AllenMidge
Directing
- David M. BernsteinAdditional Second Assistant Director
- Steven SoderberghDirector
- Gregory JacobsFirst Assistant Director
- Wilma Garscadden-GahretScript Supervisor
- Trey BatchelorSecond Assistant Director
- Michael RisoliSecond Second Assistant Director
- William D. RobinsonSecond Second Assistant Director
Writing
- Elmore LeonardNovel
- Scott FrankScreenplay
Production
- Francine MaislerCasting
- Kathy Driscoll-MohlerCasting
- Barry SonnenfeldExecutive Producer
- John HardyExecutive Producer
- Danny DeVitoProducer
- Michael ShambergProducer
- Stacey SherProducer
- Mary MorganProduction Supervisor
- Pat ChapmanProduction Supervisor
- Frederic W. BrostUnit Production Manager
Recommended by
Ocean's Eleven, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Something Wild, The Thomas Crown Affair, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown