The Oscars ceremony aired Sunday which I doubt you watched after a dystopian year of studios pushing back the release dates on some of their most anticipated films. Yet good movies still came out. Some of my favorites this year included Tenet, Impractical Jokers The Movie, and lastly this week’s discussion topic Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. It’s marked as a 2019 film when IN FACT, it was released on January 24th, 2020 (so it counts). First thing I need to establish is what a fantastic filmmaker Guy Ritchie is. His films are always action-packed, they’re funny, and he does a damn good job with representing good ‘ol Britannia (I consider live-action Aladdin as a one-off because that’s what it is). This film is available for streaming on Hulu.
Close your eyes and imagine the best ensemble of actors. Do you envision putting Michelle Dockery in the same film as Hugh Grant acting alongside Charlie Hunnam who shares a number of scenes with Colin Farrell? I know I wouldn’t. Not to mention casting Henry Golding who is perhaps the most charming actor there’s ever been as the power-hungry antagonist? Guy Ritchie sincerely outdid himself in this time with this character driven action-comedy. The demeanor of all these characters is elevated which I applaud Guy Ritchie for. Movies about drug wars typically entail characters who are unrefined or belong to “the underbelly of society”. Yet in this world The Gentlemen creates, every character holds their neck high. There is a certain amount of pride each character holds within themselves no matter what their background is and I appreciate that most. It shouldn’t matter how humble beginnings you’ve got, hold you chin up and act in a manner that earns respect from others.
I normally remark on the aesthetics or scoring of films in these tidbits but all I can say for this movie is *chef’s kiss* and that I wish that Michael Wilkinson (the costume designer) could put together my own wardrobe. The screenplay itself involves one of my favorite dialogue devices which is characters telling one another anecdotes. Filmmakers like Tarantino It happens often in real life so it adds nicely to the veritas of the world. Also the audiences love stories and the more stories added (within reason) to the narrative seems to make for an even better story.
I truly think with this film that Guy Ritchie had outdone himself. I walked out of the theater wondering how in the world could that man ever dare make another film? Well a director does what a director does and he has an upcoming spy thriller called Five Eyes starring Jason Statham and I predict a fantastic lot of actors nobody but Ritchie could piece together.
What I want to know is:
> Do you appreciate Guy Ritchie as much as I do? Elaborate.
> I cannot pick out a favorite moment in this film for the life of me. Can you?
> Are there characters you would recast if you could? Viola Davis as Lord George?
> What would you change if you were named director?
> Who knew Hulu was a platform for streaming good movies?