The long-lost Guy Ritchie is back.
Those who have watched "Two Smoking Guns" and "Smuggling" all know that it is still a familiar taste and a familiar formula.
"Gentlemen" has assembled many young and middle-aged actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hannum, Henry Golding, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant and many others. The film continues to use London as the story background. The themes mainly focus on gangsters, men's dramas, black humor, complex and multi-line stories, wild editing, cool and eye-catching soundtracks, and romantic and suave British sentiment. Use a line from the movie: " This is a wonderful movie ."
Compared with 20 years ago, this film marks the director's maturity in connotation. It is said that Gerich was originally a classic gangster movie aimed at Martin Scorsese. Although it is still a comedy movie, it obviously has a historical sense of gangster blockbusters. Those young and Dangerous boys playing in the streets of London have become well-dressed upper class.
1. Mature gangs use their profits to solve problems
Being among the upper class is the dream of every gangster. In the gang classic "The Godfather", when the young godfather played by Robert De Niro grows up to the old godfather played by Marlon Brando, he no longer fights and kills on the streets, but is arguing with parliamentarians and judges, as if he is a business leader.
In the Hong Kong film "Young and Dangerous", the boss Jiang Tianyang warned Chen Haonan, "After all, you will have a day of fighting. You used to wear a T-shirt and jeans, but now you wear a suit and tie. It is gentle and gentle. This is called progress. Bangli You need to keep a low profile when it comes to making money, and a high profile on making money."
Micky Pearson, played by Matthew McConaughey, is a gangster who is in the upper class. His background is very special. He is not a gangster who dropped out of school and fights. Although his family is poor, his IQ and studies are amazingly good. He is a recipient of a Rhodes scholarship when he studied in a famous British historical school.
The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the most competitive scholarships in the world. It supports the world’s young elites with "excellence, bravery, benevolence, and leadership" to go to Oxford University for further study. Each year, only 4 Chinese students are selected. It can be seen that, first, Mickey attended a prestigious school. Secondly, Mickey is the top student among the top students.
The industry that the domineering gangster is engaged in-cannabis, is also quite meaningful. In Europe and the United States, marijuana is something between tobacco and drugs, and there is a trend of legalization, as mentioned in the movie. Mickey specifically chose the marijuana business instead of heroin, which makes more money. He takes less risk and is easier to be accepted by the society, and will not stop him from rising.
Understand these backgrounds and understand the deep meaning of "Gentlemen". Mickey's subordinates, whether they are Lei played by Hunan or other gang members, are very different from those on the street. They have always been in suits and shoes, with a proper British style, and it is easy to mistake them for the upper-class elite. Try not to dig out your guns when you encounter troubles. They are all gentle and gentle. First of all, I think of using money to solve them.
There is a very funny clip in the movie. A group of British punks are surrounding Lei's car. The driver did not use gang violence, but took out a wad of banknotes. He could scare his gun if he could not move it.
This is a truly mature gang, who does not judge right from wrong with loyalty, but solves problems with profit. The second-generation godfather played by Al Pacino in "The Godfather" and Du Yuesheng, a gangster in the Republic of China, is the same, and he will never fight and kill at will.
From the point of view of shooting skills, Gerich still uses the multi-line narratives of "Smuggling" and "Two Smoking Guns". From a spiritual level, his attention is no longer on the British punks, but on the already-climate gangster.
2. The gang's way home is to embrace the ruling class
The film tries to show a profound background: On the one hand, it is the rise of upstarts such as Mickey to the elite; on the other hand, the decline of the traditional British aristocracy. To use the words in the movie: "Before they took care of us, now we take care of them."
There is a question in the movie title: how to grow 50 tons of marijuana in the UK without knowing it? The British aristocracy helped Mickey.
Subject to the inheritance tax, British dudes and royal nobles have to pay half of their inheritance to the country every time they inherit their inheritance. They cannot withstand the lavish spending, and many have fallen into economic crisis.
The impoverished nobles and the spying gangs hit it off. Like a guardian angel, Mickey gave the nobles a little financial aid every year, and easily bought 12 noble farms and 1,000 British real estate to build an underground cannabis empire.
The British aristocracy has become a parasite for upstarts. Mickey and Matthew, two criminals who profit from drug trafficking, are the guests of Prince Pressfield, the fourth in line to the throne of the British Empire. He helped them obtain knighthoods and was grateful for their donations. The daughter was addicted to drugs and disappeared, so the prince could only ask Tommy to find it.
Strangely speaking, although the title of British title is more of a nominal honor, it still attracts many people. Many rich Americans hope to marry their daughters to British nobles; Li Chaoren was awarded the KBE by the Queen of England, although he is considered inferior in Britain.
In the movie, although Mickey is a murderous drug lord, he has a weakness, that is, he is obedient to his wife. The actor of his wife Rosa, Michelle Dockry, once played the eldest lady in the BBC classic noble drama "Downton Abbey". This surrender to the nobility may be a coincidence, or it may be intentional.
3. The dilemma that the gangs are difficult to retreat
When the black boss became a nobleman, he chose to completely whiten himself, but "sooner or later he will have to pay it back." The focus of the film is to tell the story of Mickey's failure to retreat.
Mickey intends to sell his own cannabis industry to Matthew, who also made a fortune, a learned and talented Jewish American. Mickey completely followed the gentleman's practice, traded in good faith, and refused another gang's purchase without tears.
The problem is that Mickey has turned into a gentleman, and the others still have a black mind. Matthew colluded with No Tears, smashed Mickey's place, and took advantage of the opportunity to buy at a low price.
Forced to be helpless, Mickey had no choice but to respond in a gang way. His hands were stained with blood again, and there were no tears, forcing Matthew to pay 130 million pounds and cut him a pound of meat (tribute to Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice").
The essence of the underworld is, "If you want to become the king of the jungle, you must become the king, there can be no hesitation, hesitation will bring chaos and death."
What will Mickey do next after the failure of the Golden Basin to wash his hands? Gary gave a shot slowly, "What the movie needs is not an ending, but a sequel."
Concluding remarks
As a British director, Gerich has penetrated into British culture, and his values seem to be more commonplace. He is not disgusted but he does not like gangs, and he has no sympathy for nobles.
His favorite is the British civilians, they are the representatives of gentlemen. The boxing coach played by Colin Farrell is a gentleman. The younger brothers committed the crime, and the boss took the initiative to carry it, and he was very poor with the gang negotiator, "I will offer my loyalty, my promise, and my time until the debt is paid off." In the end, he saved Hunan, and his little brother tried to save Mickey.
The spirit of a nation is hidden deep in the common people.
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