It's been a long time since Guy Ritchie has made something that's distinctly his own. He's spent the last decade chasing blockbusters, trying to turn himself into a mega-director the studios love to employ, only to receive a few kicks in the teeth (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) and one lucky break from basically a sure thing (Aladdin remake). Initially making a name for himself with gangster cinema, Ritchie returns to form with "The Gentlemen," which examines criminal conduct and games of intimidation from a community of bosses, lowlifes, and outsiders. Ritchie isn't taking a tremendous creative gamble with the movie, but it feels like a man flushing the gunk out of his system, returning to his favourite genre to find his violent English playfulness again, which he hasn't been near since 2008's "Rock'n'Rolla."
Fletcher (High Grant) is a sleazy reporter for a British tabloid who's in possession of information that will be of use to Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), employed as a right-hand man for Mickey (Matthew McConaughey), who runs a drug empire with his wife, Rosalind (Michelle Dockery). Eager to collect a fortune for his knowledge, Fletcher shares his concern about a deal Mickey is negotiating with Matthew (Jeremy Strong), ready to sell his marijuana business to a fellow American for 400 million dollars. Trouble is, the secret enterprise has been comprised by Dry Eye (Henry Golding), a small-time stooge trying to purchase Mickey's business for a considerably lower amount, while Coach (Colin Farrell) discovers his boxing students have infiltrated one of Mickey's weed lairs to make a rap video. Fletcher has witnessed this mess from afar, attempting to inspire Raymond to buy his silence, but the gangster is not impressed, listening to the reporter weave together fact and fiction as the future of Mickey's holdings falls into flux.
In line with Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch," "The Gentlemen" brings the helmer back to the basics in terms of underworld storytelling interests. It's a tale of corrupt figures navigating a disruption to their daily business, with Mickey the central figure of crisis here. He's a smooth operator in fancy suits, sucking on a cigar, overseeing a kingdom of marijuana he runs in the English countryside, paying estate owners a fortune to grow weed underground. That alone is an enticing tale, building on the crumbling realities of "Downton Abbey" as Mickey provides cash flow to castle owners unable to pay for massive repairs, allowing them to continue projecting power. However, this is a Guy Ritchie movie, and simplicity of threat isn't of interest to the filmmaker, who quickly complicates a dangerous situation with fresh characters and problems, as everyone is coming after Mickey's marijuana factory in one way or another.
"The Gentlemen" uses Fletcher's manipulation as a way into the story, with the reporter requesting a moment with Raymond in the man's luxury apartment, presenting his version (a "cinematic journey") of Mickey's woes to collect a fortune for himself. The screenplay delivers a mighty collision of opportunism and limited patience, generating an intellectual fencing match of sorts between Fletcher and Raymond. The rest of "The Gentlemen" explores the narrative up to this point, with Fletcher sharing his information about Mickey's holdings and the plans of Matthew, who's not interested in paying an extraordinary sum of money for the weed farms, while Dry Eye goes against gang interests by making a bid of his own. Coach is the bystander pulled into this dangerous orbit, blessed with his own criminal backstory to keep bad elements away from him and his boxers. The stew thickens throughout the picture, finding trust eroding among the players, which results in the occasional chase and burst of violence.
Ritchie doesn't go wild with "The Gentlemen," which is largely a psychological game between arrogant and scheming men who enjoy the thrill of the hunt and possess a huge fondness for the C-word. It's tightly edited and enormously entertaining, watching a handful of decent actors become great during the run time, with Hunnam, Farrell, and McConaughey contributing some of their finest efforts in the picture, focused on remaining in sync with the director's vision for twisty language and turns of plot. Dockery is a joy as well, portraying a "Cockney Cleopatra," while Grant steals the movie, clearly relishing a chance to portray a tabloid sleazebag. They're pawns in Ritchie's big screen chess game, which delivers on betrayals, heated confrontations, and bruising banter. "The Gentlemen" is incredibly fun, restoring some faith in Ritchie's abilities to do what he does best, which is to throw a festival of bad choices from rotten characters with iffy survival instincts.
Review of The Gentlemen
