Our contributor Lorna shares her The Gentlemen review for you dear fanboys and fangirls starring Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey and directed by Guy Ritchie. Opens January 29!

“In the jungle, the only way a lion survives, is not by acting like a king, but by being a king.”

Such are the powerful words of the lead character, Mickey Pearson, in this latest funny and most exciting gangster film this 2020, The Gentlemen, written and directed by Guy Richie. Richie proves us film viewers once again, that he is one great lion, a king of gangster movies, not to be underestimated for his excellent ability to present a complicated, and colorful story in Ritchie’s signature style—one with slick, clever one-liners, a cool soundtrack, and a lot of swag.

If you loved Richie’s other films, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla, you will surely add The Gentlemen to your list of favorite comedy gangster flicks.

The story revolves around the well-dressed and self-made, Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), an American expat and rich drug lord, who started selling marijuana to his privileged fellow students in Oxford University, where he was sent to after winning a Rhodes scholarship. He dropped out at the university and later on established his huge marijuana empire in London, mainly by violence.

McPearson, one day realized he wants to retire already to finally live a peaceful life with his dominatrix looking wife, Rosalind (Michele Dockery). He then decides to cash out and offer his business for $400 million to a possible investor—Jewish-American billionaire businessman, Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), also referred to as “The Jew.”

In the film, the unlikable cunning private investigator and aspiring screenwriter, Fletcher (Hugh Grant), narrates his screenplay to Mcpearson’s trusted right-hand man, Raymond, giving the viewers a rough background of McPearson’s plans for his weed business. Fletcher is doing this as part of his scheme, to extort money from McPearson.

When word was out that McPearson would like to sell his pot business, along came the introduction of the most interesting and colorful characters in a gangster movie—there’s “Chinese James Bond” mobster, Dry Eye (Henry Golding) who is interested in buying out McPearson’s weed-farm business; Dry Eye’s boss, Lord George (Tom Wu); tabloid journalist, Big Dave (Eddie Marsan); and a lethal gym coach who is always sporting fashionable tracksuits (Colin Farrell).

I must admit that at first, I was kinda bored and confused with the storyline as scenes go back and forth at a pace that’s hard to even follow. But as the movie goes on, the conflicts and clashes begin to line up nicely, and the story gets defined more clearly. You’ll be in for a treat with this riotous rollercoaster ride and its exciting plot twists and turn. Make sure to keep your eyes and ears glued to the big screen so you wouldn’t miss even the smallest detail.

Truth be told, The Gentlemen is everything that I didn’t expect it to be—a whole lot of fun, with a superb cast of quality actors who didn’t disappoint even one bit. I must say that its movie trailer didn’t give it justice, as there’s so much more to it than just good-looking actors throwing clever lines naturally at one another. Watching it felt like the script was written by America’s finest crime novelist, Elmore Leonard, who wrote Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Jackie Brown, among many others. The Gentlemen has the elements of a Leonard-adapted film: the most colorful characters, an intricate plot, and the right amount of Tarantino-esque violence.

One thing that I also love about The Gentlemen (aside from its cool soundtrack) are the classy outfits worn by the characters, thanks to costume designer, Michael Wilkinson. Each of the characters had their own sense of style, and you can’t help but moon over at the actors’ lovely suits and all of Farrell’s stylish tracksuits.

The actors had killer chemistry on screen. I love how these amazing and talented actors were all perfectly brought together in this flick, and each of them played their parts well. With Dockery being the only rose among the thorns, she is such a beautiful addition as a moll to McPearson, and given only a few scenes, she even gives out one of the most memorable lines in the movie—“There’s f**kery afoot.” Grant and Farrell stood out in this film too, as both actors gave us their impressive depiction of their characters—Grant, being the hateable sleazebag PI, Fletcher; and Farrell, as the funny, likable bad-ass coach, ready to jump in for an action, and to save someone’s ass from getting kicked.

The negative thing that should be expected though from this film is the amount of racism and sexism displayed, with actors spewing out curses and offensive terms left and right, so I won’t be surprised if some viewers would find the movie’s script somewhat offensive.

Overall, The Gentlemen is not one to be missed on the big screen, as it is highly entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and highly recommend it to those who are big fans of gangster movies. I am getting my fingers crossed that Richie makes a sequel to this one.

The Gentlemen is showing in Philippine cinemas January 29. It has an R rating for violence, crude language, and drug content, and a running time of 113 minutes. Locally distributed by Captive Cinema.

The Gentlemen Review – Verdict

4/5 stars.