Guy Ritchie’s newest gangster comedy, The Gentlemen, is a delight from start to finish and continues the surprising January hot streak.
The Gentlemen features the best use of a large ensemble cast and the snappiest dialogue since last year’s Knives Out. There are some excellent twists and Ritchie’s complete grasp of the tone will have you laughing at the right moments.
If you’re expecting a deep dive into the UK’s drug market or looking for gratuitous violence, then you might be disappointed. Make no mistake, there’s violence, it’s a gangster film after all, but all of the brutality is for storytelling or comedic purposes. The soundtrack has a couple of decent songs but doesn’t make much of an impression and actually distracts rather than adds to the proceeding.
Let’s not keep Mary Jane waiting and dive into one of my most anticipated films of 2020, The Gentlemen.
Playing a Game with The Gentlemen
The film works best if you picture the cast as pieces of a board game or puzzle.
Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) moves from the United States to the United Kingdom to attend Oxford. Fast forward many years later and he oversees an international marijuana business worth around $500 million based out of the UK. Whether Pearson is actively looking to sell the business or simply receives an offer too good not to entertain from a fellow American, Matthew (Jeremy Strong), is somewhat nebulous.
Once the rumors begin swirling that Mickey’s lucrative business is up for grabs, the players of the proverbial game begin swarming like sharks. The first person to enter the fray is Fletcher (Hugh Grant). A rat of a journalist who attempts to blackmail Mickey’s right-hand man, Ray (Charlie Hunnam) with a screenplay and is the scope through which the majority of the film unfolds.
Dry Eye (Henry Golding) is the right-hand man of Lord George (Tom Wu) in the opium trade. Mr. Eye is looking to grab control of the entire drug empire and makes an offer to buy Pearson’s company. There’s a nice distinction issued by Pearson to George about the difference between marijuana and heroin that paints a clear perspective on the two vices.
Coach (Colin Farrell) runs the local boxing gym. Unbeknownst to him, the fighters at his gym run afoul of Pearson’s illicit enterprise. His involvement in the proceedings is a highlight and deserves to be kept secret.
The Performances in the Jungle
Without McConaughey and Hunnam’s performances, The Gentlemen would have no dramatic tension whatsoever.
Every person in this impressive ensemble delivers. McConaughey is charming, but the anger he instills in Pearson at the slightest amount of disrespect is palpable.
Hunnam’s performance as Ray is his best big-screen performance. Ray is the counter to the movie’s fast-paced dialogue. During scenes with other characters (mainly Fletcher), he marinates (quite literally in some cases) over each situation and carefully chooses his words as well as his next course of action. The very definition of calm, cool and collected.
While McConaughey and Hunnam’s performances bring some much-needed gravitas to the proceedings, Grant is the comedic standout through the film. Teaming up with Guy Ritchie after chewing the scenery in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Grant is incredible in this film as Fletcher. The silent strategic mind of Ray combined with Fletcher’s over-the-top antics is the comedic backbone of the film and leads to the biggest laughs in The Gentlemen.
Ferrell and Goulding are quite fun in their supporting roles. Michelle Dockery is great as Pearson’s wife, but her role deserved more screen time.
Final Thoughts on The Gentlemen
While I quite like Ritchie’s take on Aladdin, The Gentlemen is a wonderful return to a genre he knows so well. If you’re looking for a great double feature, consider seeing Knives Out, then The Gentlemen. Both of these films feature subversive takes on their respective genres, deep ensembles and rhythmic dialogue that has perfect tonal balance.
After seeing The Gentlemen, sound off in the comments.
The Review
The Gentlemen
PROS
- Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam standout in an impressive ensemble cast.
- Rhythmic dialogue
- Hugh Grant
- Fantastic return to the crime genre after more than decade for Guy Ritchie.
CONS
- The female roles could be more fleshed out.
- Fletcher's sense of humor could be offensive to some.
- The soundtrack doesn't add much to the proceedings.
