Perhaps being British is prerequisite to thoroughly enjoying Guy Ritchie's sophomore directorial release "Snatch."
Ritchie's newest film follows in the wake of the rather unexpected global success of 1999's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Ritchie assembles a solid cast of actors of both British and American fame. Hollywood lends the cast credibility, proffering the likes of Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro, and Dennis Farina ("Get Shorty") as acerbic New York City gangster Avi.
From the other side of the Atlantic appear Jason Statham and Vinne Jones both from "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and Ewen Bremner ("Trainspotting").
Thus, "Snatch" is not short on talented actors. What the picture lacks is 'quan,' an overall propelling force that gives the film presence, that makes us love it -- hell, that lets us even like it.
These actors are bereft of the tools with which to fashion any truly dynamic screen presence. The dialogue, like Ritchie's plot, action and characters, is flat and static. The film has every chance to be a compelling, gritty little serio-comedy, to inscribe itself in the hearts and minds of an American audience rapt with witty British exports and ripe for another inevitable cult classic like "Two Smoking Barrels."
At every turn, however, the film falls short. In contrast, "Two Smoking Barrels" taunts, teases and tickles viewers with delightfully unpredictable twists and turns, blending mystery and mayhem with hysteria. Endearing gangsters weasel their way into our affection, spawning a story line and a film from which we cannot and would not want to divert our attention.
It is precisely this skillful blend of credibility and captivation that established "Two Smoking Barrels" as a prototype for independent-gone-mainstream cinema, the ostensibly effortless artistry that put Guy Ritchie on the directorial map.
However, where "Two Smoking Barrels" gracefully skips and slides, "Snatch" plods clumsily along.
Opening with voice-over narration by Turkish (Statham), a London crime man in way over his head, "Snatch" charts the progress of a stolen 94-karat diamond as the stone changes hands repeatedly on its way from the U.K. to New York.
Turkish promotes boxing bouts and signs Mickey (Pitt) to take a fall in a fight fixed by crazed godfather Brick Top (Alan Ford). Meanwhile, a Russian gangster hires Franky Four Fingers (Del Toro), who has recently acquired, for his current boss Avi (Farina), the precious stone in question, to place a bet on Brick Top's fight. Boris' own hired hacks are then to commandeer the diamond, rob the bookie's pawn shop, pocket the money as their own and pass along the jewel to Boris. Add to that mix a dog, the long-lost Fat Boy and a tattooed Pitt in a trailer park flanked by a gang of gypsies and you have "Snatch," or at least a gist of it.
Like most films of its genre, "Snatch" touts a disjointed story line. However, unlike its more successful counterparts, "Snatch" fails to provide any incentive to delight in the merry discord. With an expansive, vapid script, characters like the maniacal Brick Top (Alan Ford) remain vague and vaguely irritating. The film's villains never materialize as the bad guys we love to hate; we just hate them.
Like the use of his new bride Madonna's single "Lucky Star," most of Ritchie's film could be good but somehow misses the chance. Despite the fact that the song is great, Brad Pitt is hot, Benecio del Toro is cool and that the same elements worked wonders for Ritchie in his first film, "Snatch" is just not great.
Like Pitt's warbled Cockney accent, this movie unfortunately says a whole lot of nothing. Try though one may to like it, the film simply refuses to throw the dog a bone, or a diamond as the case may be.
