hello friends and welcome to the channel where we delve into the mind of a villain in this entry we'll be taking a look at neil mccauley the professional bank robber from michael mann's heist movie heat a crime drama with a deadly cannon mouse game between cop and criminal mccauley is set against the equally determined lieutenant vincent hanna as he tries to stay one step ahead in his goal for one last score macaulay could be described as a criminal gentleman he is generally stoic and reserved a man of few words who dresses sharply and speaks with a low voice compared to the foul-mouthed and unstable vincent hanna mccauley appears to be the much more calm and collected one in his bank heist at the turn of the film he endeavors not to harm anyone if possible knowing the unnecessary heat it will bring on him he implores the civilians not to interfere or try to be a hero reminding them that they are only here for the bank's money and that their money is insured so they have nothing to lose interestingly both robberies that mcauley orchestrates in the film are covered by insurance something that he reminds his victims of perhaps this is one aspect that makes him feel less guilty over his actions the fact that his victims won't lose a dime in the case of van zant he even stands to benefit from being robbed being able to claim the insurance and buy back his bonds at a cheaper rate but that aside what makes macaulay unique is his stance on emotional attachments he follows his mentor's advice that to become successful on the streets you must not have anything that you cannot let go in 30 seconds if you spot the heat coming around the corner as a result mccauley holds everything with a loose grip living in a minimalist apartment with little furniture and abstaining from romantic relationships in his eyes that is the price of the life he has chosen and it is a price he has been willing to pay should things go south for him he would drop everything in an instant not even needing to go home for anything however tensions rise when macaulay is tempted to go against his rule at a critical point in his life amidst the heat from the police he falls in love and starts getting emotionally attached due to his philosophy macaulay is naturally a lonely person although he denies it when he meets edie he is both alone and lonely as seen when he watches with envy as his crewmates have someone to share the joys and sorrows of life with none of mcauley's crew seem to follow his 30-second rule and appear to be very attached to their partners mccauley himself appears to be indirectly supportive of his friend's marriage when he catches the wife of chris in an affair and urges her to give him another chance interestingly enough from the eventual fate of mcauley's crew the film seems to be driving home the point that relationships don't gel well with a life of crime chris is eventually separated from his wife after she almost rats him out to the police trejo is beaten to death while his lover is held hostage against him and breden's wife is left devastated at the news of his passing in the shootout perhaps mccauley's willingness to avoid emotional attachments is also a byproduct of his family background his mother passed on when he was young his father abandoned the family and he has a brother that he's estranged from so since he was young macaulay was a self-made man which likely contributed to his reserved and insular nature combine that with his seven years in a federal prison and you have a hardened individual who has gone through several dark phases of life however beneath his hard exterior lies a man who is still yearning for emotional connection as does anyone we see this by how much he opens up to edie after breaking the ice after she confesses to her own loneliness he even includes her in his escape plan to new zealand despite only knowing her for what seems to be a few weeks at the most in his own words he tells her that there is no point in going anywhere if he's going to be alone without her although macaulay recognizes his need for emotional connection and realizes that his criminal lifestyle would not be compatible with it he is unwilling to give up on either of them as he explains to lieutenant hannah this is all he knows to do all he has in life the regular life of barbecues and ball games don't appeal to him macaulay doesn't want to do anything else nor does he know how to do anything else while his crewmate michael remains in crime for the thrill of the chase mccauley is in the same position as chris doing it for the sake of his retirement fund especially after the botched job with van zandt if macaulay had enough for his getaway stretch he would probably pack it up and close shop as that is what he recommends to michael discouraging him from risking himself with the bank job as he already has enough finances with that in mind it's reasonable to suggest that if macaulay could find some other line of work that's just as lucrative and wouldn't harm anyone he would gladly take it similar to lieutenant hannah mccauley is obsessed over his profession giving his career precedence at the cost of their relationships he is attached to his career as a criminal just as much as hannah is attached to his as a cop this common ground combined with the fact that they are both professionals who excel in their chosen field endears them to each other with a sense of respect despite being on opposite sides of the law but while mccauley prides himself on his skill as a criminal he makes two mistakes which become his undoing interestingly they both have nothing to do with relationships or his 30-second rule the first was his taking on the unstable wayngrow whose reckless actions resulted in the heat on his crew in the first place the second was his fixation on revenge which caused him to make a most rash decision made even more tragic by the fact that he was so close to being home free unfortunately mccauley was unaware of the surveillance that waynegrow was under perhaps if he knew the risks he would have been more content to just let sleeping dogs lie true to his principles when mcauley spots an incoming hannah on his tail he abandons a confused edie without so much as a goodbye but while he does leave her within his stipulated time frame it was no easy decision one that he had to wrestle with in the end macaulay could have survived by surrendering but his determination not to go back to prison seals his fate when it causes him to attempt to shoot his way out overall mccauley's story is a sad one due to the limits on his imagination he sees no other calling in life other than to be a criminal and is willing to pay the price despite the toll it takes on his love life due to his need for revenge he ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time leading to his untimely end so what do you think of neil mccauley from heap folks let me know in the comments below thanks for watching and take care