Snatch

Title: “Snatch”

Year: 2000

Run Time: 103 mins

Genre: Dark Comedy, Action

Cast: Jason Statham, Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones, Dennis Farina, Rade Sherbedgia, Alan Ford, Stephen Graham, Mike Reid, Robbie Gee, Lennie James

Director: Guy Ritchie

Plot: What happens when the consequences, resulting from the choices and actions, of comrades and virtual strangers cross path’s with one another? You get a movie that packs more explosive power than the sound of 10,000 shotgun blasts!

Once jewel thief Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) gives in to his own inhibitions in London while delivering a priceless stolen diamond back to his cousin Avi (Dennis Farnia) in New York, he creates a shock wave of despicable and outrageous events that will effect the lives of anyone caught in its destructive path. Tripped up by the first ripple are the world’s two worst criminals Sol (Lennie James) and Vinnie (Robbie Gee) who are hired by the seemingly immortal Boris “The Blade” (Rade Sherbedgia) in order to apprehend this gorgeous gem from Franky’s greedy four fingered hand. While the lives of those gentlemen inevitably collide, Turkish (Jason Statham), a boxing promoter, and his best friend Tommy (Stephen Graham) unfortunately cross path’s with the English mobster Brick Top (Alan Ford), who forces them to find a fighter who will take a dive in an illegal underground boxing match for him. The only problem is, is that the fighter that Turkish had chosen has been incapacitated by the “tough as nails” character Mickey “the Pike” (Brad Pitt). Eventually Mickey agrees to step in as the fighter for this crooked match, but he has a few demands of his own for Turkish. As the shock wave spreads itself half way around the world, cousin Avi realizes that Franky and the 86 carat diamond are missing in action and takes it upon himself to find them before Franky’s shortcomings cause him his own demise. Enlisted is the help of hired hit-man Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) who could “find Moses and the burning bush if you tell him to.” Everything is set into motion. The ripple effect is taking it’s course.  As every decision and every choice of every given character is played out, it all leads to one powerful and unsuspecting conclusion that will leave you mesmerized and begging for more.

Guy Ritchie has proven once again why he should be considered one of the best director’s of our time. His type of directing is what has shaped me into the movie critic and the type of perspective that I have when viewing the world today. You can’t just look at the obvious in this film, which is the outrageous humor mixed with the ultra-gory violence. I mean, where else can you watch a man get impaled by a sword while another man get’s hit by a car and you laugh hysterically about it instead of being horrified by it? One must look at the not so obvious in order to truly understand Guy Ritchie’s true perspective being played out in this film, which in this case is his beautiful use of symbolism throughout the movie. Take for example the scene when the two dogs are chasing the hare. The two dogs actually represent Brick Top’s two goon’s, whereas the hare represents Tyrone (Ade) being hunted down for the kill. It’s symbolism such as this that set’s Guy Ritchie’s directing above all the rest.

While you might think that the acting in “Snatch” would be the next choice of topic that I would elaborate on, which is nothing short of being exquisite, but I like to find the not so obvious hidden gems inside of a movie. Often times I will be watching a movie with great directing and great acting, but despite all this, the movie lacks any sort of energy. This is not so in the case of “Snatch” all because of one often looked over aspect of a film…it’s music score. The music that is chosen to be played throughout every scene in this movie is done masterfully and with a precision like no other. The music acts as a magnet that draws you into the actual film revealing a dimension of the movie that could not be experienced with only the naked eye.

The Obvious: The directing, the acting, the outrageous humor paired with it’s violence, as well as the music score make “Snatch” one of the best movies of all time for this type of genre despite all the hard to follow English lingo.

“Speak English to me Tony! I thought this country spawned this language and so far nobody seems to speak it!”

The Not So Obvious: The pestering squeaking dog seems to be the one character that has the greatest impact on the lives of every person he comes in contact with. He is the unsung hero that ultimately ties the whole story together.

The Final Cut: Guy Ritchie has put together another masterpiece, but this movie is not for the faint of heart. If you do not possess the sort of dark humor that is needed to fully understand and soak in a Guy Ritchie film, then you might as well just stay at home with the kids. But I warn you, if you fit in this category you are truly missing out on what I feel is going to be considered a classic. “Snatch” has a top of the line cast, exquisite directing and writing, as well as a masterful movie score, which is why I consider this movie to be “one for the ages!”