The Gentlemen
Ten Second Review: Clearly laboured but in all the most positive ways, The Gentlemen is a nice return to Ritchie’s wheelhouse, but with an updated tone and freshness for the current day.
Snatch happens to be one of my all time favourite films. It’s so incredibly watchable that from any point in the film I’d quite happily sit it out to watch the rest of its runtime. As he gave me one of my all time favourite films, you might imagine that I’d have a fondness for Ritchie’s work that might create a bias when watching his since projects. Truth be told it actually makes me judge them a little harsher. I might enjoy the Holmes films but it would be a stretch to call them greatly accomplished past a few nicely worked scenes. Aladdin instead was a waste of time and a rather senseless waste of money; a good story with good songs and a couple solid sequels doesn’t need a remake (especially something so lack lustre), it needs an apology.
Our film opens on what would seem to be our main character, Michael Pearson (McConaughey), having a pint in his local. Cut to his associate, Raymond (Hunham), being approached by private investigator-come-reporter, Fletcher (Grant), with an offer and a film script. Fletcher has some information that he reckons Raymond and Michael might want to buy. As he tells his story, we begin to understand the world that surrounds these men. Ruthless yet measured, the gentlemen have a set of rules unto themselves and far be it from anyone to cross their boundaries and not expect repercussions.
I went into this film hopeful. All star cast, seemingly classic Guy Ritchie storytelling and another sleazy role for Hugh Grant to impress us in. I was pleasantly surprised. See the thing about being hopeful for a film to be good is that what you’re really telling yourself is that you don’t necessary believe it will be all that good but you would like it to be. You don’t go in to a Dwayne Johnson film hoping he’ll raise an eyebrow, you know he will. You don’t go into a Michael Bay film hoping there’ll be an explosion, you know there will. You don’t go into an Eddie Redmayne film hoping to be underwhelmed, you know you will and at this point you can’t feign surprise anymore!
When I say that I went into The Gentlemen hopeful, what I’m saying is that Ritchie has disappointed before and while I’d like it to be good, I can’t bank on it. Fortunealty, my hope was rewarded with a well paced, witty and quite amusing film that didn’t leave me wanting.
The acting is by and large well done, with special mentions to Grant and McConaughey. Even at the weaker end with Golding, the hammy and heavy handed work actually works well with Ritchie’s storytelling and style.
The film is not without fault. While certainly a witty script, it is not particularly surprising. I doubt you’ll come away in any way shocked by the narrative aspects of this particular flick. It ends up going through the motions of where you’d expect it to. What’s key is not the eventual end but the style of journey you took.
I have no doubt that critics will attack this as yet another Guy Ritchie film employing his classic style. I’m sure they’ll go after the unadventurous plot and hammy characters. They’ll certainly have a crack at a “style over substance” argument in an attempt to belittle its simple story. But above all, I’m absolutely resolute that audiences will, by and large, enjoy this film. It is another Guy Ritchie film with a simple premise and fun characters that looks pretty cool; sometimes, that’s all you really want.
