Review of The Gentlemen
midlandsmovies • April 26, 2020
Review of The Gentlemen
The Gentlemen (2019) Dir. Guy Ritchie
Writer-director Guy Ritchie returns from his “little” dabble with Disney (Aladdin, $1 billion sales) with The Gentlemen - another cockney crime-caper starring Matthew McConaughey as a marijuana kingpin looking to sell his business and get out of the game.
McConaughey’s mix of toff and street smarts seem a cipher for Ritchie himself and the film pulls in the usual blend of stars playing geezers and gangsters throughout. The story is told in flashback, framed itself as a film script by Hugh Grant’s private investigator Fletcher, who regales what he knows to Raymond, McConaughey’s right-hand man played by Charlie Hunnam.
With characters named things like “Big Dave”, “Lord George” and “Dry Eye” and a mix of criminals going to drug dens on with the threat of guns and 'heavies', we’ve seen it all before and sadly, despite some self-parody in its film-within-a-film (kind of) construction, it’s ironic the structure is one of the worst things about it.
Hunnam has never been my cup of tea (he looks and acts a bit Tesco-value Tom Hardy here) but to be fair, he’s one of the most relatable characters as he tries to figure out what the bloody hell is going on.
However, Colin Farrell’s hilarious Irish boxing coach is the standout cameo. Can we get a spin off with him please? Ritchie has been very successful with his twisty gangster narratives but here the scenes were fun but most of them felt like the filmmaker treading water.
Hugh Grant is entertaining playing against type as a smarmy reporter with an East End accent and there a plenty of laughs scattered about, but for me, the film ended on a shrug of indifference.
Mostly solid across the board, fans of Ritchie will know what they’re going to get, but for me that’s part of the problem. We’ve seen Ritchie do this many times before and frankly far better.
★★★
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett & Matt Burkey for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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