STOLEN was one of the most disappointing film experiences I've had in a long time, more so because it had so much squandered potential.<br /><br />The story was intriguing: in 1990, thieves dressed as Boston Police stolen several paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, and their heist included "The Concert" by Vermeer, and is considered the most valuable painting ever stolen. If you don't think you're familiar with Vermeer, thing "Girl with a Pearl Earring." The story unfolds with thieves, politics, the mob, and all sorts of shady characters being tracked by a renowned art recovery expert, Harold Smith, a character in himself. And that's not even mentioning Isabella Stewart Gardner and her art museum.<br /><br />What should have been a fascinating tale was one of the most haphazard and boring documentaries I've seen in years, and reeked of attention deficit disorder, from disorienting and senseless shots, to the sudden direction changes and long silences.<br /><br />It would touch on elements, and then discard them, and when it did explore them, it was so superficial it was like hearing a good joke told by someone with no timing. And being from Boston, I know elements touched on in the piece that really could have been developed to make it more interesting and coherent. <br /><br />It really could have been an incredible documentary, but it failed.