The Gentlemen series is roughly based on the 2019 McConaughey movie, but as I figured, the only resemblances are the title and the underground weed growing business. I found it enough entertaining with all the non-researched inadvertences. Who is the Archduke of Moldavia? Sometimes I think this is Ritchie’s contribution to nowadays youngsters’ brainwashing. It was entertaining, as I said, but that doesn’t mean it was good. The 2019 movie was slightly better. Too bad, because in eight episodes, one can consolidate a better story.
The Gentlemen – Theo James
[source: imdb.com]
The Gentlemen – Plot
Eddie Horniman is brought home from some UN mission he served in. His father, the 9th Earl of Halstead was living his last breaths and Eddie’s presence was required. We meet the family, his older brother Freddy, his sister Charlotte, and his mother. We meet the butler and the ground keeper, Geoff who is a genuine animal lover. Besides ground keeping he saves every little beast in distress: a fox, an owl, a hedgehog, etc. He is also undisputedly loyal. Unfortunately for Freddy, Eddie is the heir, he inherits the title (10th Earl now), the estate, everything.
Freddy is a crackhead and owes some potentially dangerous gangsters £8mil with the wig included. He presumably has to deliver them in cash in less than a week. This is unbelievable BS. No British aristocrat can raise this kind of cash in such a short time (except maybe King Charles and his heir). It’s stated that £4mil is owed, but again, how much cocaine can one snort to reach this value? Coke’s street price in the UK seems to be around £90 per gram. With £4mil one buys 45kg. You see the BS, don’t you?
Anyway, Eddie finds an underground weed plantation on the estate and some £2mil in his father’s safe, in the den. A new character appears on the stage, Susie Glass, the pot growing manager at the time. Her father (played by Ray Winstone) is indisposed for the moment being convicted. His sojourn in “prison” is apparently meant for high society, with a private chef, Wagyu stakes, fine wine, and police constables as other servants.
Eddie wants to save his brother who’s family after all, and also wants to extract the estate from the shady marijuana trafficking venture. He associates with Susie Glass in diverse activities not meant for a gentleman. Sometimes one thinks a romance will spark between the two, but that’s not the case.
Cast
Theo James is Eddie Horniman, an Earl descendant. Kaya Scodelario is Susie Glass, a gangster’s daughter. Daniel Ings is Freddy Horniman, Eddie’s older brother. Joely Richardson is Lady Sabrina, Eddie and Freddy’s mother. Vinnie Jones is Geoff Seacombe, the Halstead estate’s keeper. Michael Vu is Jimmy, a mixer and grower, and in a way, a botanist. Harry Goodwins is Jack Glass, Susie’s brother, a boxer. Chanel Cresswell is Tamasina Horniman, Freddy’s wife. Giancarlo Esposito is Stanley Johnston, a distinguished American gentleman with no title. Alexis Rodney is Emory Stevens, Stanley Johnston’s (with a “t”) personal assistant. Ray Winstone is Bobby Glass, Susie, and Jack’s gangster father. Ruby Sear is Gabrielle, a mysterious thief. John McGrellis is Errol, a criminal cocaine trafficker of no great value. Pearce Quigley is Gospel John, Errol’s big brother, a potential danger for the Horniman family. Josh Finan is Jethro, some guy involved with Gospel John’s criminal organization. Gaia Weiss is Princess Rosanne, a poshy character who’s been one of Eddie Horniman’s acquaintances since childhood. Jasmine Blackborow is Charlotte Horniman, Eddie, and Freddy’s younger sister. Max Beesley is Collins, a boxer promoter, and more. Freddie Fox is Max Bassington, another aristocrat. Laurence O’Fuarain is JP, the neighborhood nomad’s clan chieftain. The rest of The Gentlemen cast is just filling the weak story.
The Gentlemen – Trailer
The trailer is more of a teaser, and it doesn’t matter how relevant it is. You can spend eight hours to binge it especially if you are a Guy Ritchie fan.
Conclusion – Sort of
Scodelario is good. I like her educated accent despite her being raised in the house of someone with Ray Winstone’s accent. She seems posh and rough at the same time. Theo James is somehow weak in his acting, and Giancarlo Esposito is extracted directly from Breaking Bad. Not missing are some gypsies as well, less funny than what you learned from Peaky Blinders, but forcibly made “positive” and loyal, which is never the case between their breed and yours.
The story could have been more entertaining if logically prepared. The script has a forced preciosity, almost as bad as Tarantino’s, sometimes it makes no sense at all, it’s there only for the sound. No poetry, don’t be misled.
The Gentlemen is not the best work of the reputed director. He considers his creations to be esoteric. Sometimes is obvious, sometimes it is just an unsupported fantasy. There must be logic in fantasy as well. Here, it may be a parable of how the aristocracy is actually a criminal brotherhood governing everything, but the story is highly incoherent.
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