Snatch (2001) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Brad Pitt,Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro, Vinnie Jones, Alan Ford, Rade Sherbedgia and Mike Reid. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie. Rated R.
Snatch is a rollicking, violent offbeat outing that will leave you gasping, laughing and perhaps a bit outraged. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, THAT Guy Ritchie), the movie covers similar ground to Ritchieís breakthrough film of last year, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Both films deal with not-too-bright underworld factions battling and trying to double cross each other. Both are filled with mayhem and both contain a cockeyed humor that is infectious even as you watch bodies drop in droves.
Snatch plays like one of those old Warner Bros. crime dramas from the ë30s that so expertly melded gunplay with snappy patter. Only in Snatch, you really have to pay attention since the story is set in England and most of the cast speak quickly in those blue-collar British accents that takes a while to pick up.
Snatch ostensibly revolves around the theft of an 84-karat diamond in Antwerp by Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) and some confederates.
The theft of the diamond sparks the interest of a number of low-life and not-very-nice characters with names such as Brick Top (Alan Ford), Avi (Dennis Farina), Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), Boris "The Blade" (Rade Sherbedgia) and Doug "The Head" (Mike Reid)
Others on the periphery include novice unlicensed fight promoter Turkish (Jason Statham), his partner, Tommy (Stephen Graham) and the Gypsy bare-knuckle fighter, Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt).
Ritchie unites these two worlds in his helter-skelter drama that seems to be going in all directions, yet folds together neatly at the finale.
One thing you can say about Ritchie, the man does not believe in a linear narrative. Snatch jumps from person to person, place to place, event to event without so much as a fade-out or iris.
Ritchie has a natural affinity for these mugs and thugs. He doesnít exactly treat them with respect or extol their virtues, but he does seem to be winking at his audience, saying, ìYea, theyíre bad, they rob, cheat and kill, but theyíre funny in a pathetic way.î
He does not glamorize them like Coppolaís Corleone family or Scorseseís Wise Guys. And that may be because in Ritchieís underworld, the gangsters are only half as smart as they think they are.
Snatchís plot contrivances and double-dealings are too convoluted to explain in print. Just take my word, that you will have a rousing good time at Snatch, even as you try to follow its various threads.
As for the performers, Statham keeps a level head as the promoter merely trying to stay alive; Pitt is nearly incomprehensible, jabbering rapidly with a brogue that would make Barry Fitzgerald blush; while Ford nearly steals the movie as the gangster kingpin-pig farmer who sometimes serves his animals some special feed in order to get rid of evidence.
Snatch is no Sunday picnic. It is at times bloody and brutal. Yet it also has an innate, childish charm, almost a tongue-in-cheek quality in which Ritchie seems to be saying that none of what you are watching should be taken seriously. I know I didnít ó because I was too busy laughing.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Reviews by Bloom also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database site: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews