Guy Ritchie’s return to his stylised, gangster-comedy roots is a lot of fun, bolstered by an engaging and satisfyingly twisty narrative, and some great comedy performances.

Premise: The UK’s cannabis kingpin, American-born Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), is looking to sell his drug empire to fellow American Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong) so that he can retire and spend his middle age with his wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery). But sleazy private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) approaches Mickey’s right-hand-man Raymond (Charlie Hunnam) with potentially valuable information concerning vindictive newspaper editor Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) and up-and-coming rival gangster Dry Eye (Henry Golding).

Review:

It’s been quite some time since Guy Ritchie made a “Guy Ritchie” film. Over the intervening years he’s experimented in other genres and had successes (like the Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr, and last year’s Aladdin) and flops (like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., although I did quite enjoy the latter), but he’s seemed reluctant to return to the genre that, for a time, he defined in a way that perhaps only Tarantino has matched. Just as you know what you’re getting with a “Tarantino film”, there was a time around the turn of the century when you knew exactly what you were getting from a “Guy Ritchie film”.

The Gentlemen marks Guy Ritchie’s welcome return to the gangster/action/comedy genre that he so wonderfully explored in his earlier films, like Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. It’s packed full of creative swearing, unexpected violence, black humour and larger than life characters, and it certainly earns its 18 certificate. Some of the language used by certain characters could be considered offensive, although you do have to bear in mind that, for the most part, the characters are meant to be unsympathetic and their behaviour is deliberately unpalatable for that reason. Just as with his earlier films, The Gentlemen will not appeal to everyone, but if you can tune into Guy Ritchie’s hyper-stylised dialogue and you have a high tolerance for the C-word, it’s a lot of fun.

“…inhabits a heightened reality where everyone talks in over-the-top verbose dialogue…”

.All of the characters in The Gentlemen are, objectively speaking, caricatures rather than realistic people, but because they all inhabit a heightened reality where everyone talks in over-the-top verbose dialogue (“F**k off back from whence he came” and “There’s f**kery afoot”, for example), it all works.

Interestingly, the events of the film are framed around a conversation between Hugh Grant’s amoral private investigator, Fletcher, and Charlie Hunnam’s loyal criminal lieutenant, Raymond. This can be a little jarring at first (as we get a lot of voiceover explanations from Fletcher), but once the initial scene-setting is done, the voiceovers are used less, and the differing perspectives of the characters actually becomes part of the storyline itself, as some characters know more than others, and we question who may themselves be an unreliable narrator.

“…the standout performance was Colin Farrell’s, who delivers most of the film’s funniest lines…”

As you may expect if you’ve seen Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch, the plot itself has plenty of twists and turns, and doesn’t necessarily unfold in a chronological order. The unexpected plot developments are, after all, as much a key ingredient of a “Guy Ritchie film” as the hyper-stylised dialogue. The Gentlemen delivers (just as Ritchie’s earlier films did) in terms of not just having some interesting twists along the way, but also weaving the various characters’ plot threads together in some unexpected ways.

Matthew McConaughey uses his screen presence to establish Mickey’s gangland credentials without needing a lot of screen time, but it’s arguably Charlie Hunnam who is the film’s main driving force, managing to keep his interludes with High Grant’s Fletcher entertaining rather than intrusive. Hugh Grant himself appears to be having fun playing a very over-the-top seedy private detective, just as Henry Golding and Eddie Marsan also hold nothing back in their roles as an arrogant rising gangster and a blustering newspaper editor. Mickey’s wife Rosalind is perhaps an underwritten role (she doesn’t get an awful lot to do), but Michelle Dockery sinks her teeth into what there is, and makes an impression as the gangster’s moll who’s by her husband’s side to the end. But for me, the standout performance was Colin Farrell’s supporting role as a local boxing gym coach, who expertly delivers most of the film’s funniest lines.

“…if you can tune into its deliberately heightened & stylised tone, this is a great watch…”

It feels like Guy Ritchie waited until he had a new story to tell, before returning to his gangster-comedy roots. While the playful tone of The Gentlemen is reminiscent of Ritchie’s earlier films, the subject matter is very different, looking at how, despite his poor upbringing, Mickey was able to use his university connections to infiltrate the high society of England’s land-rich/cash-poor minor aristocracy. Guy Ritchie has unapologetically not made a film for mass consumption (there might not be many fans of his last film, Aladdin, coming to see The Gentlemen...), but if you can tune into his very deliberately heightened and stylised tone, this is a great watch.