The Gentlemen

Guy Ritchie is back on our screens and we’re glad to have him there.  

The opening moments of The Gentlemen on Netflix instantly re-establish his signature style: larger than life gangsters that are real and surreal at the same time; comedy vignettes breaking up scenes of brutal violence; a story that masterfully walks the line between being experimental and populist, distinctive and entertaining. Ritchie isn’t credited as a writer and director on any episode, but what we know of him can be felt all over this production.

Like all of Ritchie’s work, The Gentlemen draws on well know gangster tropes. Eddie Halstead (Theo James), second in line to his father’s drug empire, inherits the family business and instantly establishes himself as “the grand duke of getting shit done”.  He usurps his useless older brother Freddy Halstead (Daniel Ings) in a mode reminiscent of The Godfather. Like Michael Corleone, Eddie is ex-military and is uses his can-do attitude to attempt to pull his family out of the drug game. Like Fredo Corleone, Freddie is an absolute liability that has audience’s screaming at the TV to let him get himself killed already.  

Theo James is great and his suave and sophisticated performance has social media calling for him to be the next James Bond. Eddie strikes a crackling criminal partnership with Suzie Glass (Kaya Scodelario), a compelling female protagonist who is able to match Eddie’s capability and talent in the drug racket.  The two’s chemistry is undeniable.   

A harsh evaluation of The Gentlemen would acknowledge that the set up was more satisfying than the resolution. We were giddy to be plonked back into a Guy Ritchie world after a while away, but the second half of the series had a lot more plot and business to complicatedly wrap up.  Nevertheless, it worked well enough and generated intrigue for a second series.