The Gentlemen is a Exuberant, Labyrinthine Romp

After dipping his toe into family friendly films, Guy Ritchie returns to what he does best with The Gentlemen. The film is a scabrous, exuberant romp, with a labyrinthine plot that will have your head spinning and a profane screenplay that will have your ears ringing.

Matthew McConaughey, playing kingpin Michael Pearson, is the token American parachuted into a British caper that is packed full of sleazy, double crossing, inept gangsters, fighting a turf war over a cannabis empire. Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong and Colin Farrell all deliver whimsical turns, but its Hugh Grant that steals not just the cash but the film. One rung down the ladder from profession criminals, he is marvellously horrible as a low life tabloid journalist. Michelle Dockery makes her mark as Mrs Pearson, but as with most of Ritchie’s film, this is a resolutely blokish affair.

This may just be a confection to tickle your fancy, but then it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Lots happen, much of it inconsequential, in a movie that is all about cleverness and looking cool. It sparkles with the obvious pleasure both director and actors had making it, and while it may all be nonsense, its highly polished and expertly executed nonsense.