Rated R for strong violence, language and some nudity.
104 Minutes

Written And Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Staring: Jason Statum, Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Benicio del Toro, Ade, Ewen Bremner, Sam Douglas, Adam Fogerty, Jason Flemyng, Alan Ford, Stephen Graham, Lennie James, Jimmy Roussounis, Rade Serbedzija, Mike Reid, and Vinnie Jones

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity. -Bullet Tooth Tony

Review

Bare Knuckle Boxing, British gangsters, pigs with a taste for man, and Pikeys are the recipe for the film Snatch.  Countered by an insanely talented and charismatic cast, with a cleverly written script by Guy Ritchie, and a nonstop pace ofentertainment for the audience makes this one of the most exciting and enjoyable movies to begin a new decade.  A twisting story told from individual perspectives that eventually connect together one way or another, with an absolutely fantastic array of characters that make this movie an adventure of a wild and crazy surrounding the fate of a stolen diamond.

Snatch begins with an eight-four karat diamond that is “snatched” and as the story unfolds it falls into hands after sets of hands of villains.  Between a boxing match set up by a gangster and a corrupt bookie, the fate of the diamond and the fight becomes the vision of the story, and a very interesting character dark action styled comedy.

While Snatch is a film that takes place in the UK with some pretty amazing dialects they are for the most part easy to understand unlike “TheCommitments “.  Once you get past the very strong culture shock, this movie will blow you away.  The constant pace keeps you aware of what’s happening but also keeps the mystery just at bay.  It’s obvious everything is going to come together at one point, but it’s never clear how that’s going to happen or what the final result will be and since all the character’s are essentially “villains” it’s even more elusive.

Even in the midst of tantalizing performances there were a few that stood out.  Dennis Farina and Benicio del Toro are only in the film briefly but each of their roles are magnetic and scene stealing.  Brad Pitt’s role as Mickey the Pikey is embedded in my mind as one of the standout roles of his career, probably only slightly overshadowed by Jeffrey Goines and Tyler Durden.  There was a level of controlled insanity about the character.  He seemed like a wild untamed dog, but at the same time a very controled method behind his madness lingered behind his primitive eyes.  Next to the diamond his character becomes the unintentional centerpiece for the tale, and certainly one of the most fascinating parts of the movie.  Next to him is Bullet Proof Tony played by Vinnie Jones is a bounty hunter that says clever and reflective things in spite of what his character stereotype is.  His cool and calm demeanor in the face of death and violence makes him a character you simply don’t forget about.

The role of Turkish was played by Jason Statum, and while slightly overshadowed by Pitt’s performance is the glue that holds the film together.  His character Turkish is a small time fight promoter who somehow finds himself in the mix of a diamond missing from a diamond heist and is now under the thumb of the psychotic gangster Brick Top who enjoys feeding his victims to his pigs.  Turkish, though a victim ofcircumstance, always has his wits about himself.  He seems like the kind of guy who could talk his way out of anything.  Always with something clever to say, and a glint of something darker lingering behind his eyes, you can see there’s more to Turkish than meets the eye.  I love the mystery of this character, and the fact that even though he’s always reacting to what’s happening around him, he’s always in charge of himself.  This was the first role I really began to recognize who Jason Statum was.

Snatch is a film based around interesting villains that pose as our anti-heros and make a great mob related movie that never stopsentertaining.  The plot may be twisted and even at times hard to follow, but it makes for a joyful re-watch again and again.  You catch things you never anticipated and only adds to how great the movie actually is.  At the very least this movie is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and is one to be revisited again and again.

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