The Gentlemen

Title: The Gentlemen

Year: 2019

Genre: Action | Crime |

Runtime: 113 min

Director: Guy Ritchie

Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunman, Michelle Dockery

imdb8,1/10

 

A British drug lord tries to sell off his highly profitable empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires.

SHARP DIALOGUE DOESN’T SAVE THE DAY

Guy Ritchie’s often collaborate with good and confident actors than returns in his filmography more than once. He’s a director that is known for movies like the Sherlock Holmes films, King Arthur and Disney’s Aladdin that grossed over $1 billion on the box office even if it had a weak plot. Otherwise, he’s also known for making British gangster films with Tom Hardy and Idris Elba among the cast.

This crime-comedy tries hard to make the pace of the story consistent, and the editing is as always on Ritchie’s best side. The film itself follows a drug-deal gone wrong and tries to track whodunnit, which also talked through several voices. This is also a film with a cast of Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant. 

The concept of a meta-film is rarely appreciating, but somehow it’s working for this film where Hugh Grant portrays a different type of character as Fletcher. A fun, redeeming character that one of the highlights of the film. With a strong ensemble, there is a lot of dialogue that makes it hard to follow through. These groups make it all accessible by the end of the film.

There is some strong English, and the British atmosphere gives a fresh take on the gangster-violence, that is combined with comedy and strong characters. Beside Hugh Grant’s excellent performance as Fletcher, the rest of the cast contributes in a unique way for the plot. These characters are distinguished enough to separate them and that they’re fulfilling their part in this story. The plot itself doesn’t serve a bigger purpose, unfortunately. It quite chaotic and tangled story-wise and it feels like Ritchie uses Grant’s Fletcher to redeem himself whenever he’s lost in the screenwriting. The writing is a desperate move that resembles a lot like Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, in means of a lot of violence, back-stabbing and profanity. Instead of Boston, it’s London. 

It’s a chaotic and slightly funny attempt to make it worth watching, but it happens a lot which is difficult to keeping track of. The editing is good, the performance is decent, but there is nothing that keeps you on your seat. There’s a predictable plot, even from the very start that gets you frustrated — not the best of his films but a reasonable attempt to try something new and fresh for once.

GRADE 3