by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
When enjoying a film with some fun or intriguing premise, there’s a common refrain that can be uttered upon exiting the theater: “I’d happily spend more time in this world.”
Unfortunately, it’s not a dream that often gets fulfilled.
That’s what makes The Gentlemen such an interesting series for Netflix, because the 2019 Guy Ritchie film of the same name was very much one of those films for me.
Building off the film, we’re introduced to an aristocratic family as their son, Eddie (Theo James), gets a shock when he finds his recently deceased father has been receiving a handsome sum for allowing the growth of marijuana secretly on the family grounds. They may use his system, but there’s no Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) here; instead Kaya Scodelario’s Susie plays point for her imprisoned father (Ray Winstone). Despite the lack of returning characters, it very much feels like the same world as the original, but I honestly think you can watch it without having seen the film first. The show takes the initial premise and runs with it, without littering it with callbacks that would leave the uninitiated lost.
A lot of what works is due to actually having Ritchie more than nominally involved in the project. When the trailers highlighted the fact that it was a Guy Ritchie project, I smiled and nodded, fully expecting it to be a Guy Ritchie project in the way every horror movie nowadays finds a way to connect themselves to James Wan just for the purpose of using his name in the trailer. However, Ritchie does more than that, helping to get the ball rolling by directing and co-writing the first two episodes. With Ritchie setting the tone, the rest of the creative team does a great job of running with the show in a way that evokes his style, from the visuals to the use of music, but without feeling like a cheap imitation.
Outside of the overall vibe of the show, what really stands out are the performances.
In our lead role, James does exactly what is required of him. Very much the like Charlie Hunnam in the film, the show makes the straight man our main character. Outside of the Divergent series and a small indie from 2017 I watched recently, The Secret Scripture, I was not immediately aware with how familiar I was with his work. I was surprised to see how much I’d been recently enjoying his work without really knowing it, through is voice acting performances in Castlevania and The Witcheruniverse. He’s really good again here as the military man trying to navigate his way out of this criminal enterprise, while also secretly being great at it. It’s such an interesting dynamic to play, and he does it well.
Much like James, Scodelario is someone I had seen pop up here and there, and who made her bones in a YA adaptation (The Maze Runner). Likewise, I was really impressed with her performance. It’s a largely a very subtle performance. Like James, there’s a façade to the performance — keeping up a polite mask, while still putting off an air of danger. It’s a lot of fun.
With all those similarities between two characters whose performances I really enjoyed, it’s perhaps no surprise that I had a blast watching the interplay between the two. Their chemistry is a highlight, and I don’t mean that in a romantic sense. There is a will-they-won’t-they aspect to their partnership, but it’s mostly comments from outside figures as they swear things are kept strictly business. How much fun I’m having with them makes me a little more forgiving when the plot manufactures conflict or things can feel a little repetitive, as the duo are constantly trying to problem solve as another plan goes awry.
However, the real standout from a performance standpoint, surprisingly, is frequent Ritchie collaborator Vinnie Jones. He plays the longstanding groundkeeper of the estate and hits all the right notes. Often playing the boisterous heavy, while there’s still a threat and a power to his presence, it’s much more understated — and I loved that. There’s a respect he gets from Eddie and the rest of the family that leaves no doubt of how respected he is, and you still get the sense he could kill you in a second — it’s just all done in a calm voice and at a leisurely pace, instead of being screamed at the top of his lungs and in a madcap frenzy.
Aside from this trio, there are a ton of colorful supporting performances that help flesh out the world. A few to at least mention include: Daniel Ings as Eddie’s screw up brother; Freddy, Winstone as old-school gangster Bobby Glass; Michael Vu as marijuana maestro, Jimmy; and Giancarlo Esposito in a great supporting role that has some fun with his previous filmography.
Overall, the feel is there, but it’s very much the “light” version of the film. It’s enjoyable, but it lacks that next level. As much as I love the performances, I think the characters are missing a bit of that extra juice that actors like Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell bring to the original.
However, it’s rare that we get a project that allows the audience just to bask in a world they enjoyed for a little longer — and without some of the frustrating traps those projects have a tendency of falling into. So I, for one, am not complaining one bit and I’d happily spend more time in this world.
Rating: Liked It
The Gentlemen is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd