The Gentlemen

Whenever I think of a film director with a “hit and miss” career, I always think of Guy Ritchie. For every good, entertaining film that he makes (Snatch, the Sherlock Holmes movies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E), he also makes something either mediocre (Aladdin) or just outright terrible (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). And part of that may be because, as I said in my Aladdin review, his nonlinear, fast-forward, flashback, quick-editing style always walks a fine line between enhancing a film or just outright ruining it. But when it works, it always makes for a unique, one-of-a-kind experience.

Anyway, The Gentlemen seems to be a return to form for the British director after a ten-year trek through the land of Hollywood blockbusters that ended with his most financially successful film (Aladdin), giving him enough clout to make something more akin to his early gangster flicks. And how did it turn out? Pretty good, actually, save for a few hiccups we’ll get to.

Our story deals with Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Pearson, an American expat living in England who made his name through pot-dealing. Now, he’s looking to retire and sell off his cannabis empire, which gets the attention of many colorful characters such as Chinese gangster Dry Eye (Henry Golding), billionaire Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), and tabloid reporter Fletcher (Hugh Grant), who serves as the film's narrator, relating all of the events – which he typed up as a screenplay - to Pearson’s assistant Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), in the hopes that he’ll buy the script for 20 million pounds.

One thing people should know going in before seeing this is that the screenplay schtick can come off as a little smug, as though Ritchie is trying to demonstrate to us as the audience how schooled he is in cinema – a particular bit where Fletcher throws some shade at The Conversation being the most potentially smug part. Me being the cinephile I am, it didn’t bother me too much, but I can see how it would be off-putting for some others.

There are also some weird, out of place bits of racial humor that seem a little retrograde for 2020, and I’m not quite sure why they’re in there. I won’t point them out in this review, but you’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em.

However, if you can look past those elements, the movie is a lot of fun. Matthew McConaughey manages to pull off some impressive intimidating and comedic chops as Pearson, Michelle Dockery holds her own as his wife, Colin Farrell demonstrates why he’s more suited to quirky roles than those of the leading man variety as an Irish boxing coach who gets thrown into the mix, and Henry Golding expertly shows off his action chops, giving us a hint of what we’ll witness later this year with Snake Eyes. Hugh Grant is devouring the scene as the delightfully sleazy Fletcher, and speaking of character acting, Charlie Hunnam’s performance in this film shows why he’s probably better suited to those kinds of roles as well, because he does a great job of being the put-upon straight man to all the madness going on.

Plus, this film comes with all the requisite Guy Ritchie-isms: freeze frames, flashbacks, flashforwards, fourth-wall leaning, nonlinear storytelling, stylized graphics, the gang’s all here.

So, I’d say give this film a chance. If you’re not already a Guy Ritchie fan, this probably won’t do much to convert you, but if you loved Snatch and RocknRolla, this is the film for you, mate…

…apologies to any British readers out there.