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Lately, Guy Ritchie has become known for directing flashy, big-budget adventures. But before he was the guy who remade Aladdin, he made gritty crime thrillers. And with his latest, The Gentlemen, he blends the grit of his early films with the polish of his newer films for a more high-class crime caper.
The Gentlemen follows the business dealings of Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), an American who arrived at Oxford years ago as a Rhodes scholar, only to discover that the real money was in selling weed to his rich classmates. Years later, he’s built a profitable empire—one that he’s ready to sell off, so he can settle into retirement with his wife (Michelle Dockery). But when he offers the business to friendly competitor Matthew (Jeremy Strong), everything spirals into a mess of break-ins and blackmail and trouble for Mickey and his right-hand man, Ray (Charlie Hunnam).
Set up as a story told by shady investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant), who’s out to double-cross and blackmail his way to a massive paycheck, The Gentlemen is all about deadly deals and sabotage—but it’s all handled in the classiest, most businesslike, yet still entirely unapologetic of ways.
Mickey may be running an illegal enterprise, but despite those pesky details and his rather dubious background—despite the underlying seediness of it all—he’s no drug-dealing thug who spends his days out on the streets. He’s a suave, refined gentleman who wears suits and attends business meetings and is invited to intimate dinners with high-powered businessmen and politicians. McConaughey definitely isn’t the ruthless British crime boss that you’d expect from Ritchie, but he’s perfectly cast as the college party boy turned shrewd businessman. And the wealth and prestige of the character and his associates gives The Gentlemen a very different tone from Ritchie’s early crime capers.
Still, despite the polish, the director’s signature style comes shining through. You’ll still find plenty of crime and violence and back-alley dealings. Though it all starts out slowly, taking its time to get viewers fully hooked, it eventually builds in speed, offering the same fast-talking wit and constantly twisting complexities that made films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels so much fun to watch. It’s clever, it’s funny, and it boasts a wildly entertaining ensemble cast.
The Gentlemen is a more grown-up caper for those grown-up fans who loved Ritchie’s edgy thrillers in their younger years. It’s the same idea—the same crime and violence and fast-talking humor—just in a designer suit.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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