"You choose." I didn't care. I've been cooped up due to the coronavirus for so long that I welcomed any entertainment short of watching a White House COVID-19 briefing.
She sorted through the Amazon options, paused to read the summary for a couple of horror flicks, then landed in the drama section.
"How about The Gentlemen?"
In my head I screamed: "Nooooooooooo!" But out loud I said "Sure, fine with me."
Damn it. Guy Ritchie again.
I tend to shy away from Ritchie flicks for several reasons: they tend to be stylized in a way that just looks too obvious to me, sorta like an understated Wes Anderson film. Ritchie film plots are often a little too fast moving for me. He's a terrific teller of stories, but he requires the audience to be in lock-step with his pace and I always feel a full step behind. Then there's the fact that I can never understand his dialogue.
Ever! I mean, have you tried watching Snatch without closed captioning?
There's still a lot of all that in The Gentlemen. But there's a lot I enjoyed, too. Most of what I enjoyed comes from the effort of Hugh Grant. It's through the eyes of Fletcher, his character, that we experience most of this story. And while I wouldn't hang out socially with Fletcher, he's a fun guy to observe from afar.
Matthew McConaeghey is good as the protagonist, and Charlie Hunnam is excellent as Raymond. The plot is complicated, but it's told in a way that unfolds for the audience and is easy to understand.
I left the closed captioning on, though. Just in case.
