The Gentlemen Movie Review
Nathan Swank
January 24th, 2020
It has been twenty years since 2000’s SNATCH and even longer since 1998’s LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS. After a long list of lesser but a few more lucrative films (SHERLOCK, ALADDIN) and a few more flops (SWEPT AWAY, KING ARTHUR), director and writer, Guy Ritchie is back…sorta. A refreshing return to the gangster comedy genre, THE GENTLEMEN has all the clever makings of those earlier two films, but lacks some of the consistency in energy and stylized fun.
Told by Hugh Grant’s awkwardly cheeky Fletcher attempting to blackmail Charlie Hunnam’s Ray, a collected, well put together consigliere to Matthew McConaughey’s Mickey. Mickey is a clever American who built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. However, Mickey is looking to retire and sell his much-desired illegal company. But this only fuels unwanted activity to take down and steal Mickey’s domain, thinking he might be in a vulnerable position.
With a colorful cast of characters full of schemes, bribery, drug-dealing, and murder, THE GENTLEMEN has fun with its seedy underbelly. The long list of characters are wickedly entertaining and the film successfully makes you root for our protagonist Mickey even though his hands are murky in blood and dirt. Although it helps that the drug of choice is certainly one that will eventually be universally legalized.
Utilizing some playful accents, the cast is wildly terrific. Grant is spectacular, Hunnam and McConaughey are ultra cool, Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) as Mickey’s no-nonsense wife has one of the film’s craziest scenes, Henry Golding (CRAZY RICH ASIANS, LAST CHRISTMAS) is charismatically evil, and Colin Farrell steals every (way too limited) scene he has as Coach, a crafty fight trainer who helps troubled youth, that all get accidentally thrown into the mess.
I really enjoy THE GENTLEMEN, but can’t help thinking it should have been much better. The story and plot twists are all there, perhaps not fully original but still successful in how they play out. As I said before, the cast is awesome. The problem is after the initial throwback credits roll and a fun editing trick when Fletcher explains what type of film dimensions he would like his story to be viewed theatrically, THE GENTLEMEN lacks a certain energy and laughs. Ultimately it comes down to a pacing issue. Now that’s not entirely true for the two-hour run-time as the second half of the film makes up for what the first half was sorely missing. And the improved pacing, humor, and overall energy might be enough to fool audiences into thinking the film is better than it is. But for the first hour our theater was quiet and for good reason. The music, editing and overall energy seem to be a non-factor in an otherwise cleverly crafted-story from a director who has utilized all these elements before and specifically this genre.
That ultimately is the toughest part when reviewing the adequately enjoyable THE GENTLEMEN. I know Guy Ritchie is capable of doing more with this genre, which I believe he is clearly passionate about. While I had fun with the film, I’ve seen the gangster comedy genre done better… twice by this director. THE GENTLEMEN is good but it could have been great.
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