Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Screenplay by: Guy Ritchie
Story by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson & Marn Davies
Produced by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, Bill Block
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marson, with Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant.
Opening with a pint, a pickled egg and a song on the juke box, the tone is set as kingpin of the marijuana trade (AKA bush) Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) begins the story of his journey to get out of the business.
Time has gentrified the once bloody beginnings of this man coming up the hard way.
Mickey wants to take long walks, plant roses and spend time with his lovely wife. Well, maybe lovely isn’t the right word, more, super-sharp, won’t-take-anything-from-anyone-but-loves-her-man, Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).
But no good deed goes unpunished, so eloquently stated by Mickey’s right-hand man, Raymond (Charlie Hunnam); the tale of the story narrated in Raymond’s kitchen by dirt-gathering journo/PI, Fletcher (Hugh Grant), as Fletcher attempts to blackmail the kingdom of Mickey, the information he holds given in the dramatic fashion of cinema in 35mm film, anamorphic (so to speak) and in true Guy Ritchie style.
The comedy of this gangster film really hits the mark. This has a lot to do with the brilliant casting of Hugh Grant as the dastardly Fletcher.
This reinvention of Hugh Grant has a unique flare that makes him an incredibly entertaining villain. Think Paddington II with an adult rating.
The intricate tale of dirty deeds and moves ahead of moves also keeps up the entertainment while throwing in segues from one scene to the next like a stage production, as each ‘liquorice assortment of tasty mates,’ are introduced:
Michelle Dockery as Rosalind, the luxury car and repair entrepreneur tough and sexy in her super stiletto heels and Cockney accent is fantastic.
As is Colin Farrell as the Irish boxer, Coach. Who else could pull-off so much check in an outfit?!
Coming to accents, I still can’t believe Hunnam speaking anything else but American. It seemed his accent went from Brit to Irish to something that was a hybrid of all the above. He still has a good death stare though, and his distaste of the heroin, junkie digs is shown with a delightful twitch across his handsome, bearded face.
Which brings me to Matthew McConaughey – yep, it’s an all-star cast, as we’ve come to expect from a Guy Ritchie film. Best role I’ve seen him in since True Detective. McConoughey wears that kingpin suite very well while throwing out lines like, ‘Doubt creates chaos in one’s own demise.’
There’s a, taking-from-the-poor-giving-to-the-rich, element to the story. But hey, at least bush doesn’t destroy (like heroin), it just makes some people go insane.
But I get the distinction.
Overall, The Gentlemen is fiercely entertaining – think ‘fight-porn’ – on many levels, most importantly, the film has a clever story that’s good fun to watch.