Yesterday it was off to the pictures for back-to-back screenings of Guy Ritchie's the Gentlemen.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
The kingpin of Britain's largest marijuana enterprise attempts to ease into retirement and finds there's nothing easy about it.
Dear reader(s), it's important for me to note that I saw the Gentlemen twice yesterday. While I often see movies more than once (hey there, Jack Sparrow!), seldom do I see them more than once before I write about them. In this case, it made a difference of a half to a full point improvement on the film's final Weasley score, so that's material enough to warrant a mention.
The Gentlemen is a rollicking tale that's as clever as it is crass. A wordy script is liberally seasoned with swearing and slurs, weaving its way from twist to unexpected turn. The movie gets off to a bit of a slow start (which I found much less noticeable the second time around), but once it gets rolling, it is ROLLING, through a tense, violent, funny, and often surprising tale. The Gentlemen is blessed with a cast that is perfect in every way. Matthew McConaughey is crafty, dashing, and just the right amount of menacing as the mogul with an eye on retirement. Hugh Grant is hilarious as a sleazy PI looking out for number-one, while Henry Golding impresses as an up-and-comer with his eye on the prize. Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery holds her own with the guys, no refined Lady Mary, this one, but, per usual, it's Colin Farrell who steals the show with a smart, funny turn. Annnnnnnd...to my Charlie People (and all you future Charlie People): this is a GREAT role for Charlie Hunnam. He gets just about the most screen time of anyone in the terrific ensemble, and he absolutely nails it. One of the reasons I'm proud to call myself a Charlie Person (and why I continue to evangelize new Charlie People) is because, despite his obscenely good looks, Charlie Hunnam has never traded on that commodity. He takes interesting roles in interesting projects, almost always aiming higher than he really has to. As McConaughey's smart, stoic, sweatered wing man, Hunnam is given a great opportunity to shine in the Gentlemen, and shine he does. One of my favorite performances from him to date.
The Gentlemen clocks in at 113 minutes and is rated R for "violence, language throughout, sexual references, and drug content." (I really, really feel like the "drug content" should be first there, but oh well.)
The Gentlemen is a humorous, exciting, well-crafted, and perfectly-cast film that takes viewers on a wild ride and effectively corrals an almost impossible number of moving pieces.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Gentlemen gets eight. Until next time...
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