Snatch (film): this film made me a Guy Ritchie fan
For whatever reason, I avoided watching this film for many years. I think the main reason was that at that point in my life I didn't have a very high opinion of British cinema and foolishly assumed it wouldn't be good. It was a silly decision, but eventually I got around to watching it and oh my goodness, is it ever a winner.
I'm likely preaching to the choir about this film's epic-ness, because I feel as though most people have already seen it. However, if you are one of the few people that have somehow managed to have not seen this yet, you need to get out there and find it.
The film takes place in the London crime underworld for the most part, as nearly everyone in the film is involved at least in part, in illegal activities. Even the friendly people in the movie like Tommy (played by Stephen Graham) is up to something nefarious such as being a promoter for unlicensed boxing.
I feel it is important to walk into this film blind so I am not going to be very specific about anything. While no one is necessarily the "star" of this movie, it certainly has a wonderful array of very talented actors.
We don't often see Americans starring in other countries' films because for whatever reason, adapting another accent just isn't something that USA actors do very well (Just think about Keanu Reeves in "Dracula.") Brad Pitt was a rare exception to this rule and according to my U.K. pals I've made over the years, his gypsy accent while playing "Mickey" in Snatch is absolutely spot on.
Although I can't find any information to verify this, it is rumored that Brad Pitt actually went to live in a caravan among actual gypsies in the U.K. for months in order to prepare for his role. Avoiding what we would have to imagine is his usual luxurious life, he completely immersed himself in the culture and language until it was mastered. He is absolutely ripped in the movies as well, so he certainly deserved his paycheck for this movie.
The way in which the story is presented is amazing. We do have Jason Statham talking us through most of the scenes as a narrator, which in many critic's eyes is a lazy method of storytelling. However, if i try to imagine how they would have conveyed all the information in lieu of that narration, the film would have to be 22 hours long.
I honestly feel as though this film deserves higher ratings than the major movie review sites have attributed to it and that is where a couple of the people who follow me need to provide me with some insight. I can find no flaw in this film. The casting is perfect, the acting is wonderful, the story moves quickly, and it stays interesting throughout. I would love to know how it is that this film has an average rating of just above 70%.
"I would love to know how it is that this film has an average rating of just above 70%."
The reason is timing. At the time the movie came out, it was perceived as two things: (1) A repeat of Guy Ritchie's previous movie, "Lock Stock," which made reviewers damn it on the grounds it didn't advance his filmic "ambitions;" (2) It was said to be yet another Quentin Tarantino knock-off, with Tarantino's brilliant "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs" having been copied to death by a million inferior filmmakers by the time this movie was released.
So the critical ratings generated for the movie correlate with that specific time period, when those harsh judgements were made, and are not an objective assessment of what the movie IS.
Today, things look different. Guy Ritchie plainly never had the "ambitions" for art house greatness that the critics tried to burden him with. Ritchie has always been a gut filmmaker making wild and crazy films to rouse audiences by viscerally entertaining them to the max.
Further, Tarantino knock-offs dried up soon after 2000, and looking back, this is the best of all of them, with a unique British flavor that distinguishes it from the pack, and also from other British gangster pictures, which are so damn miserable by comparison, with tragic characters supposedly experiencing Shakespearean downfalls. Instead, and for the better, this movie is crowd pleasing exuberant fun!
This is Ritchie's best movie, because in it he cranks up the most momentum for his balls-out cartoon-like macho male characters, an almost Looney Tunes energy that zaps and fizzes around the plot, like Wile E Coyote chasing the road runner, failing, then chasing him in a different direction. There is a zestiness about the story, where even if you lose control of the plot threads, you just don't care because it's so much fun watching all these characters crash into each other. It's like the exhilaration of playing in bumper cars, where you zoom this way and that trying to avoid inevitable crashes, not really caring about your ultimate destination.
In fact, the convoluted plot (as hard to follow as "the Big Sleep"), where you're never quite sure who is allied with who, is one of this films greatest delights, in that it's funny to not know what's going on, and just crash around as confused as the characters. And Brad Pitt's undecipherable accent is part of this crazy fun, as is the fact that Turkish is not Turkish, and that most of "the Jews" aren't Jewish, just another crazy component of the wacky races around London that make up the movie.
Of course, we do get the spice of lively Tarantinoesque dialogue, where macho preening characters discuss philosophy and irrelevant asides, in between dodging punches. You get characters discussing the meaning of a "nemesis," or "the domestication of cows" or the various sizes of "shrinking balls."
Jason Statham is wonderful as Turkish, providing a solid center for the crazy plot, a may pole the other characters dance around. The whole point of a shaggy dog story is that someone has to tell it, and Statham's combination of wry wit and composed sang froid were so winning that he broke out as a leading actor after this.
From "The Transporter" and "Crank," through "The Expendables" and the "Fast and Furious" movies, we finally reach a weekend where Statham is actually leading a $150 million Hollywood picture in "The Meg!" One of my favorite Brits done good!
Ultimately, the critics' standards used to judge the movie dated much quicker than the movie itself, which remains one of the most propulsive, compelling, characterful, entertaining, cartoon macho movies ever made. :)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", Mr. Madonna's (Ritchie) first film, was shot on a small budget, with a no-name cast (except for football bad boy Vinnie Jones) and quickly became a rousing success at home and found receptive audiences abroad. While not a technically a sequel "Snatch" is stylistically very similar to "Lock, Stock
": Ritchie utilizes his trademark bombastic staccato sequences, and repeatedly bounces off on radical tangents to throw the viewer off balance. He did however opt for a decidedly darker satirical tone in this film, that may make some people uncomfortable (think "Very Bad Things"). What struck me as particularly daring was his decision to create a story with such a voluminous cast.
Ritchie faced a daunting task with this film: how, with roughly twenty principal characters, does one adequately flesh out each character, and not hopelessly confuse the audience? The feat was made doubly difficult, as several cast members are big name stars. Somehow Ritchie manages - each actor is full bodied, receives ample screen time, and no one character is the centerpiece. With so many talented actors, it is difficult to pick out one performance that stands out: Rade Serbedzija is hilarious as the mad Russian who blithely burns through each of his nine lives, as is Vinnie Jones' manic gentleman hitman. On the other end of the spectrum, is Alan Ford as Brick Top, the promoter with a penchant for pigs, who epitomizes cold-blooded viciousness. If forced to pick my favorite however, I would have to go with Brad Pitt
Pitt resurrects his trailer trash look from "Kalifornia" and adopts a nearly indecipherable brogue that sounds like my best friend's Uncle Wally on a bad day. As Mickey O'Neil, the hard drinking wily grifter and part-time pugilist, Pitt displays a wide range of emotions, demonstrating again that he is not only a star, but also a gifted character actor. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the dog that subtly stole every scene he appeared in.
While "Snatch" initially struggles to find its stride, and is very similar to Ritchie's earlier film, it is fresh and funny enough to make you forget any minor shortfalls and stand on its own.
Guy Ritchie is not a director, it's already a symbol. The best criminal comedies with a sea of frenzy, shooting, foul language - all this Richie. The main difference from a lot of similar films - Ritchie movies are smart, with lots of plot lines intersecting at one point. There will not be standard "falls and cakes", so beloved in foreign films. But the chic english humor, based on a delicate play of words and irony of situations, will be remembered for a long time and will make it necessary to revise and quote the favorite films.
"Snatch" is a vivid example of Richie's work. Shootings, fights, laughter in every frame, but not at the expense of the plot or the intensity of criminal passions. The strong dramatic component of the film is well maintained. All laws of the genre are met, but submitted by Guy Ritchie in his corporate style. A stunning soundtrack, matched very carefully and scrupulously, to enhance the effect of every scene or image. And the images themselves are a separate fat plus picture. Perfectly written out, each with his own characteristics, making him the head of the episode. There is no one major role - all the main roles and the necessary. And the magnificent actor's team copes one hundred percent. This film was created in order to be quoted and reviewed. Is able to replenish the collection of anyone who loves a good movie.
The whole movie is The Best Moments. Not even being witty. The movie is just one roller coaster ride of one awesome moment followed by the next..
Hiii...gooddream
Great Post.
Great movie, great characters, great story-line, great dialog...
Portrays London's "underworld" in a funny and maybe slightly over exaggerated way...
I really like that movie and I love the actor Brad Pitt is my favorite.
Basically the movie was wonderful of its time. I love it, i can see it again and again. This is one of my favourite movies .
Brad Pitt's "pikey" accent was top notch in this film. If you liked Snatch I would recommend other Guy Ritchie's masterpiece "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"
Very exciting, the subject one the search for a stolen diamond and the other with a boxing promoter who is under the yoke of a ruthless gangster. I love movies where Brad Pitt acts