Josh Reviews The Gentlemen
The Gentlemen, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, tells a complicated yarn of the interactions among many different players in the London crime scene, from low-level street toughs to the wealthy masterminds overseeing their empires. Guy Ritchie came onto the scene with two fantastic crime films of this type: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I love both of those films! While I have enjoyed some of Mr. Ritchie’s big-budget Hollywood work (I really liked the first Sherlock Holmes film he made with Robert Downey, Jr.), I’ve been longing for Mr. Ritchie to return to this type of funny and scary fast-paced crime story that he does so well. (2008’s RocknRolla was an attempt, but I thought that film was something of a miss.)
While I wouldn’t say that The Gentlemen equals Lock, Stock or Snatch, it’s a very enjoyable romp of a film! Mr. Ritchie’s fast-paced style is back in full force, and the film is stuffed to overflowing with colorful characters and outrageous circumstances. The story is somewhat confusing, but it works because of the playful joy with which the entire thing unfolds. The film is full of fast-paced dialogue and whip-fast jokes. The narrative is a pleasingly bizarre jumble, complicated by unreliable narrators (especially Hugh Grant’s reporter Fletcher, who tells the story of much of the film’s events) and Mr. Ritchie’s usual creative approach to storytelling.
The film’s cast of weird and dangerous characters is played by a fantastically talented ensemble. Hugh Grant puts on a thick London accent to play Fletcher, the newspaper investigator who believes he’s discovered his ticket to fortune. Matthew McConaughey plays Mickey Pearson, the suave and dangerous crime lord. Charlie Hunnam plays Raymond Smith, Mickey’s right-hand-man and fixer. Colin Farrell plays Coach, who mentors a group of young wannabe-criminals. Henry Golding plays Dry Eye, a Chinese gangster looking to make a move on Mickey. Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) plays Rosalind, Mickey’s wife and a formidable player in her own right. Jeremy Strong (Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Molly’s Game) plays Matthew, the wealthy businessman looking to purchase Mickey’s empire. Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, The World’s End, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) plays Big Dave, editor of a British tabloid with a grudge against Mickey. And that’s just scratching the surface…!
There’s a lot of bad language and some juvenile humor in the film. This isn’t a movie for everyone. It’s been mostly savaged by the critics, but I’m not sure what they were looking for in this film. This isn’t Citizen Kane. Not every film need to be! It’s a pleasingly diverting lark, one that I found to be funny and clever and enjoyable. I was happy to see Guy Ritchie back to his crime-caper roots. It’s hard to believe that this is the same director who made Aladdin (which came out less than a year ago)! (That’s not a criticism of Aladdin, which I mostly enjoyed; but I’m much happier seeing this type of Guy Ritchie film.) I recommend you give it a chance.
Please support MotionPicturesComics.com by clicking through one of our Amazon links the next time you need to shop! We’ll receive a small percentage from any product you purchase from Amazon within 24 hours after clicking through. Thank you!