“The Gentlemen” Review
Mickey Pearson (Center) threatens crime boss Lord George (Left) with Raymond in “The Gentlemen.”
While 2020 didn’t exactly deliver a massive amount of films due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the best films of the year was “The Gentlemen.” After spending time with big-budget films like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Aladdin,” writer/director Guy Ritchie returns to the crime genre with the flare of a wild stallion being let out of its corral with “The Gentlemen” being a crowning achievement in crime film.
Set in England, the film follows marijuana kingpin Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) as he prepares to sell his lucrative business so he can peacefully retire. When word of Mickey leaving reaches the streets, various groups try to take control of the empire, including a vicious gangster named Dry Eye (Henry Golding).
This leaves Mickey, his number two Raymond (Charlie Hunam), his wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery) and a trainer of fighters called Coach (Colin Farrell) to keep order in the chaos. Meanwhile, a private investigator (Hugh Grant) has been snooping about and has discovered all that Mickey and his mates have been up to, leading him to blackmail Mickey.
Every single actor brings their A-game to this film with Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunam and Colin Farrell being charismatic and entertaining. Charlie Hunam is soft-spoken compared to many of his co-stars but brings a level of calm intimidation that can’t be beat. But, without a doubt, Hugh Grant is the best part of the film with his character of Fletcher being clever and driving much of the plot.
Fletcher (Left) spends the majority of the film trying to blackmail Raymond for millions in exchange for his information.
The plot is told out-of-order with the film mainly being told by Fletcher while he’s trying to blackmail Raymond for 20 million British pounds in exchange for his silence. Not only does this result in great humor between the two of them, but also results in moments of fantasy with, at one point, a violent scene being thrown in despite never actually occurring.
“The Gentlemen” is a very complicated film with many parties fighting to wear Mickey’s crown and numerous others getting involved. One subplot involves Raymond being sent to collect a lord’s daughter (Eliot Sumner) from a drug infested environment, resulting in a violent, comedic romp. However, every single plot-point manages to all come together at the end resulting in a story that keeps the viewer guessing.
Ritchie’s dialogue is pure, profane poetry combining British slang, clever wording and every euphemism for marijuana that exists. Between the violence, the dialogue and the character, every moment of this film is captivating.
Guy Ritchie clearly has a love for filmmaking which is present throughout the entirety of the film. When confronting Raymond with what Mickey has done, Fletcher conveys it through a screenplay he has written based on the events of the film and often acts like he’s pitching a potential film based on Mickey’s exploits.
The film also contains an opening credits sequence that is on-par with the “James Bond” series, “Batman” and anything Saul Bass put his hands on.
“The Gentlemen” is one of the most original crime films of recent years with enough memorable characters, clever lines and interesting turns to make it worth a view and then numerous rewatches.
