The Gentlemen

First Hit: A few scenes were to fun watch, but as a film, it was poorly constructed.

I’ve never seen a Guy Ritchie film that I thought was constructed with thoughtfulness and skill. He either attempts to cover too much ground or is more inclined to use pop and dazzle to engage the audience.

In this film, he has to use narration throughout to create, set up, and deliver the story. He hides his inability to write a good screenplay by making the narration of his story part of the storyline his characters say to each other.

Specifically, watch most of the scenes between a dirt-digger detective and reporter Fletcher (Hugh Grant and Ray (Charlie Hunnam). Ray is the right-hand man and consigliere for Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), the weed lord of England. Because Fletcher is attempting to blackmail Mickey and Ray, he explains the whole story to the theater’s audience by reading the screenplay with Ray.

This is the main issue with this film. Having to rely on this narration to provide a lot of the movie’s context is troubling. However, I will say the way it is done here is better than having an unknown voice over-explanation.

The story as I saw it, was that Mickey wants to sell his vast marijuana growing and distribution empire to Matthew (Jeremy Strong). The reason for selling was unclear and unconvincing. Matthew is a wealthy eccentric Englishman who is intrigued with the possibility of buying this empire for $400M. However, it is a lot of money, and to drive the price down, Matthew engages “Dry Eye” (Henry Golding and a term used for Asians). Dry Eye makes an offer that Mickey scoffs at, but because the offer to sell to Matthew was supposed to be secret, Mickey is now on guard.

Then the story adds complexity because we learn that Matthew and Dry Eye are working some sort of side deal to assist each other in reducing the price, but each plans to screw the other as well.

Adding to this is Fletcher, who, through his detective work, documents all the goings-on between all the parties, which led to the script he reads from. His hopes are to sell the screenplay to Mickey and Ray for $20M so that Mickey and Ray will know all the subversive planning that is going on to drive the price down.

The most fun part of the film is when we have scenes with Coach (Colin Farrell). His group of boys is caught raising havoc in one of Mickey’s underground farms, so he owes Mickey and Ray. The payback to Ray and Mickey are amusing and fun to watch.

Confused? One could be, but this convoluted story is kept on track by the narration scenes. This saves the film from being a total disaster and it also makes it a poorly constructed film.

Anyway, there are lots of side plots and stories in this movie, including Mickey’s wife, Rosalind Pearson (Michelle Dockery). She’s supposed to be the most magnificent woman in the world, but it is only in the eyes of the beholder. There is the newspaper owner who hired Fletcher. There is Lord George (Tom Wu), head dragon, heroin distributor who crosses Mickey.

The movie has lots of twists that are used for creating interest and complexity, and in some cases, it works, but mostly it doesn’t.

McConaughey's role in this makes me wonder. At times he selects fantastic parts like in film Dallas Buyer’s Club and other times, he chooses roles like this one. He does it well enough, but it’s really a role of false, blustery, and cool-man behavior. Hunnam is outstanding as Ray, Mickey’s right-hand man. Grant is oddly compelling as a bad guy. I’ve not seen him recently, and seeing him here was fun. Farrell is brilliant as the Coach of a group of guys and honest to his word. Actually, I liked his character and role the best of all. Dockery is okay as Mickey’s wife and auto builder entrepreneur. Strong is mediocre as the wealthy and odd Englishman who wants to buy Mickey’s empire. Golding is formidable as Dry Eye, a youngish Asian who wants to make his mark. Wu was perfect as the wry old heroin distributor. Ritchie wrote and directed this film, and as I’ve indicated, Guy has little to offer in the realm of filmmaking and his background in music videos is where his talent may lay.

Overall:  Although entertaining at times, being so convoluted the required narration means the story and film needs additional work.

The Sense of an Ending

First Hit:  Somewhat slow, subtle, and insightful film about someone coming to grips with things as they are and not what he thought they were.

I didn’t mind that this British film plodded along because its plodding was even and unfolded the character and the past of Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent) in a thoughtful and realistic way.

Tony is a quiet grumpy (“curmudgeon” according to his daughter) retired old man. His best friend is his divorced wife Margaret (Harriet Walter). He’s a retired professor, but owns and works at a very small antique camera business. He receives a registered letter one day that tells him that his first college girlfriend Veronica’s (Freya Mavor as young Veronica and Charlotte Rampling as the older Veronica) mother, Sarah (Emily Mortimer), left him a diary by his old college friend Adrian Finn (Joe Alwyn).

Curious, he goes to the solicitor’s (lawyer) office to collect the diary, however he’s told that Veronica still has it and isn’t giving it up to Tony. This prompts him to discuss his university story to his former wife, who sees through the surface representation and tells him, come back and tell me the real and in-depth story.

The film is about this slow unfolding of his reconciliation of his actions as a student. To assist the story, his daughter Susie (Michelle Dockery) is pregnant and having a baby, which is used to enhance Tony’s inability to connect at an emotional empathetic level to the possibilities of what happened a long time ago.

To tell the story the film goes back and forth in time often to explore his relationship with Veronica, her mom, Adrian, and his other close friends. It takes a bit of getting use to because the segues between the two time periods are not always matched.

Broadbent was perfect for this role. He’s got the look and the acting ability to make me believe he was learning about his whole life through the story of the film. Being an occasional curmudgeon myself, I got why he asked the questions he did and the way he isolated himself. Walter was wonderful as his understanding and caring ex-wife. Mavor was interesting as young Veronica but it was Rampling as the older Veronica who really put the right flavor on his growing up, so-of-speak. Mortimer was really strong in her brief but impactful role. Alwyn was OK as Tony’s friend. Dockery was wonderful as Tony’s daughter. I liked their interaction and was touched by his being with her during the birth of her baby. Nick Payne did a wonderful job of creating a script that unfolded slowly. Ritesh Batra did a good job of letting the dialog unfold the scenes.

Overall:  This was enjoyable to me, but I can see why it may not be enjoyable to others.

Non-Stop

Hit:  The generally unbelievable premise was kept interesting because of Neeson’s intensity.

Liam Neeson plays Bill Marks, a distraught US Air Marshal who hates flying and is caught up in a hijacking/blackmailing of a flight from New York to London. Sitting next to him is Jen Summers (Julianne Moore) who needs to sit next to the window.

During the flight Marks receives a text message on a secure communications channel. He suspects the other Air Marshal but ends up killing him – in accordance to the information and plan shared on the text messages. Every 20 minutes someone dies. The pilot and the entire Air Marshal team on the ground, think Marks is really the instigator to the hijacking.

The audience knows Marks is the good guy. Eventually we discover the real plot and the world is right. Although early in the film one doesn’t really know who the culprit, there are things one can read during the film which point the way. The best part of the film is Neeson and his ability to keep the audience engaged.

Neeson is strong and intense which is the best part of the film. Moore is good as a woman who is living life fully for the now. Michelle Dockery was OK as the flight attendant who assists Marks the most. Lupita Nyong’o was OK in a very minor role as another flight attendant. John Richardson and Christopher Roach wrote an unfathomable script. Jaume Collet-Serra did a reasonable job of directing this unrealistic film with some interesting shots of fighting in an airplane restroom and scenes where the plane dove and the passengers got tossed about.

Overall:  It was watchable but not because of the plot, script, or direction.