If you’ve ever seen any of director Guy Ritchie’s British crime comedies like Snatch (2000) or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) then you know exactly what to expect walking into 2020’s glorious The Gentlemen. The film is stacked with a huge cast of Hollywood’s finest men including Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell, as well as recent breakout actor Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor) and Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery. Filled with bad language, strong accents, more twists and turns then you can count, and enough meta-references to make you question what’s real, the film isn’t going to be for everyone however for the target audience The Gentlemen is practically flawless.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this film was the dialogue; not only is The Gentlemen incredibly well written, filled to the brim with smart, subtle jokes and appropriate placement of swearing, but the jokes also land well thanks to the delivery of the talented cast. Hugh Grant and his portrayal of the flamboyant Fletcher was a personal highlight and had me in stitches as he dropped ‘love’ and ‘darlin’ into his attempt at blackmailing the tough fellas, while Michelle Dockery’s faux cockney accent and slang help her character pack an extra punch as one of the only women holding it down in the film.
On a more technical aspect, the cinematography of The Gentlemen is incredible. It is well-edited with fun transitions and meta film references about where and how to cut scenes. From colour gradients to styling, lighting and shooting the film looks impressively modern and completely enraptures the audience; there was not a single part of me that didn’t completely believe that McConaughey is a drug kingpin and Hunnam is a skilled consigliere, until after I left the cinema and started thinking about this review. It is worth it to see on the big screen however I think the effort put into detail will allow it to translate well onto a smaller screen when it’s released later.
The Gentlemen is a crime action film with comedic undertones. It doesn’t tiptoe around gore or graphic images however it also doesn’t rely too heavily on them to move the story forward – it’s a funny, edge of your seat, film that leaves you laughing, gasping and second-guessing what you believe right up until the end credits begin rolling. If you like Guy Ritchie films, British crime comedies, or any of the actors featured on the poster and you don’t mind your fair share of bad language, you’ll thoroughly enjoy The Gentlemen, and as for me – I’ll definitely be seeing this again.
Score: 5/5