The Gentlemen (2019) Dir: Guy Ritchie
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I must confess, I am not an avid watcher of Guy Ritchie films. In fact, off the top of my head, the only others I've seen from him are the two Sherlock Holmes films, which I did enjoy in fairness. Much like the rest of his filmography, Ritchie presents the audience with a blend of witty comedy and intense crime-themed action.
With a highly acclaimed cast and decent budget behind it, this seemed to have the world at its metaphorical feet. However, the more I thought about this film, the less and less I liked it. It tries way too hard to do too much, resulting in a messy plot, a few poorly written characters, pacing issues and some questionable comedy.
Matthew McConaughey gives a tremendous performance, as he usually does, and is one of the few not held back by some of the inconsistent writing. I think he made for an unusual and fascinating key character.
Charlie Hunnam is the protagonist of sorts, and while he isn't perfect here, he still provides a lot of funny and entertaining moments, particularly when interacting with the adolescent cast members.
Hugh Grant gives a surprisingly different performance from what he usually does, and , for what it's worth, it was nice to see. That said, he did get a little irritating at times - he almost toom it too far with the uniqueness of his portrayal.
Colin Farrell shows his talent once again, and gives what is, in my view, the best performance of anyone in the film - despite having far less screentime.
I also enjoyed Michelle Dockery here, although she doesn't get nearly enough time on-screen in my opinion. She was certainly underutilised here, to the film's undeniable detriment.
Jeremy Strong didn't give a bad performance, but his character's sloppy presentation and writing left him in a hit of a tough spot. He ended up coming across as very unbelievable and annoying, more than anything else.
Finally, I'll give quick mentions to some other notable cast members; Bugzy Malone, Henry Golding, Eddie Marson, Eliot Sumner, Tom Wu and Chidi Afujo.
Overall, this is a film that, if you don't really think about it, is plenty of fun. The problem is, once you do start thinking about it, you end up with a repetitive, sloppy and overrated film that doesn't stand up to analysis nearly as much as it should.
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