The guys do not apologize, but the guys prefer to start from scratch. In the “Gentlemen” finale at the end of 2019 provencorrupt private investigator (and aspiring screenwriter) Fletcher says it’s too early to write off Guy Ritchie yet again (Hugh Grant) He said that this story needed to be continued, as if he had broken the fourth wall. On the one hand, a gentleman’s word is law, and on the other, Richie’s promised sequels have historically not gone over well: We’ve been waiting for “Johnny, Archie and the Wild Bunch” to return for more than 15 years. The real Rock ‘n’ Roll Man.” The new “Gentlemen,” paradoxically, meets both of these parameters at once: We now have nearly eight more hours of exciting and hilarious showdowns between drug gangsters, but the heroes are Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Dockery, Not only do Charlie Hunnam and Colin Farrell not participate in these, they are not mentioned, but absent at all.
The term “Remix” is more suitable for the series “Gentlemen” – the only thing in common with the film is the recognizable director’s style and an ingenious criminal plot. In the new version, the owner of the marijuana empire scattered across the estates of impoverished British aristocrats replaces the American Mickey Pearson with the British Bobby Glass. (Ray Winstone)and is managed directly by daughter Susie (Kaya Scodelario).
But in the show we come from the other side: the aristocratic side. A young man named Eddie Halstead (Theo James) He leaves service in the armed forces when he inherits the title of duke and 15 thousand acres of land and, according to his will, bypasses his older brother Freddie (Daniel Ings), is not distinguished by its reliability in matters unrelated to the use of impressive doses of cocaine. Along with the official inheritance, Eddie also receives an unofficial inheritance: a deal with the Spectacles, who places one of the fields on his own land.
The series is greeted with some feeling of naturalness due to the fact that the main character Richie turns out to be a blue-blooded person, and not a street punk of one weight category or another. It’s a stab in the back of the working class, to be sure, but by the second episode you start to accept the updated rules of the game, as “Gentlemen” seems to have come to its senses after the sluggish, hungover pilot — and turns on Guy Ritchie’s (literal) cocaine use. Towards the end of the season, you can’t help but admire James’ character, and towards the end of the marathon, a very elegant explanation emerges: The first aristocrats were actually the same gangsters who exploited what belonged to others. .
The new “Gentlemen” seem to be plucked from a different kind of bush: They don’t hit you right away, and they may not hit you as hard, but they last longer. There is a lot in principle: you lose something, but you gain something. Moreover, due to the rapid timing of the purchases, the total amount turns out to be quite high. One of the most notable is the elderly Vinnie Jones, who works here with Richie for the first time since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and who, contrary to expectations, plays one of the least harsh and most touching roles of his career. (Watchman Jeff’s line will melt even the hardest of hearts tuned entirely to “dad cinema”). But Giancarlo Esposito, on the contrary, starred opposite Richie for the first time – but in the familiar role of an entrepreneur from Breaking Bad, strangling a drug empire.
Overall, the series manages expectations quite wisely. Let’s say one of the most pleasant aspects is the dynamics between the characters of James and Scodelario, which is not limited to boring romance, but brings it out in a routine, dotted line. And overall, Susie Glass, played by the same ulcer from “Skins,” reveals herself to be as plain a pro-feminist as masculinity singer Richie can be. It is worth considering that it is no coincidence that Netflix released “Gentlemen” on the eve of Women’s Solidarity Day in the struggle for women’s rights and liberation (by a funny coincidence, my wife and I also went to watch the original “Gentlemen”) on the eve of the holiday (and in general many other on the eve of something) – March 7, 2020 ).
But it would be wrong to give all the credit solely to Richie. Frankly, TV series are a much more collective work than feature films, and here the British cinematographer had at least a full-fledged partner – the main screenwriter of the project, Matthew Reid, who once followed Peaky Blinders from the BBC (he, it seems, Pyotr Ershov The order in which the principle was redistributed in the work “The Little Humpbacked Horse” was borrowed from there: the middle one was smart, but the eldest son was both this and that – although not stupid (all). The most stubborn second part, like the boring first part, was directed by the founder of “The Gentlemen” himself, and then the drum of the director’s chair began to turn – and especially Nima Nurizadeh, the director of the alcohol comedy “Project X” and the stoner comedy “American Ultra” was involved entered ”
The motley but impressive community behind the scenes is generally consistent with how things work inside the frame. Ritchie’s universe doesn’t seem empty in the absence of the beloved outlaws from the old film. On the contrary, it brings out a host of incredibly colorful characters who can be strangely comfortable to be around. The fireplace comfort of “Gentlemen” also fuels the reinforced concrete appeal of simple, honest-in-its-way cinema in which Chekhov’s gun is, in fact, a gun. After all, honesty is a very gentlemanly act.
Release date: March 7, 2024 (fully published)
Duration: 8 episodes ~50 minutes each
Creators: Guy Ritchie, Matthew Reid
Casting: Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones
Where to see: netflix
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