The Gentlemen

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

If you like a caper – and no one does ‘caper’ as well as director Guy Ritchie (think ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’) – then get thee to a movie cinema for this is vintage Ritchie.

Matthew McConaughey plays gentrified marijuana baron Mickey Pearson who has done a devilishly clever deal with some down-at-heal members of the English aristocracy to completely monopolise the green traffic through the UK. Suffice to say, when he lets it be known in certain circles that he wishes to sell his business and disappear into the lifestyle of a very rich, law-abiding retiree, a lot of underworld interest materialises.

Pearson’s queen and cool-as-ice wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery) warns him that things may get ugly as interest in his retirement stirs – and as any good wife facing her husband’s early retirement would do – continually questions if he truly wants to leave the game.

From this point the carefully choreographed chaos of a vintage Ritchie script erupts.

A joy to watch is Hugh Grant playing a slimy blackmailer who will make your skin crawl (I can’t believe Grant’s talent was so wasted for so long playing floppy-haired romantic interests when he can be so effortlessly disgusting). Likewise, Colin Farrell as an altruistic gym coach who is training young gang members back into a law-abiding lives is one not too be missed ... I could have missed the blackmail sequence involving a media heavy weight and a gross sow however. Nuff said!

Trashy escapism with a lively script.

Great fun.