After keeping his mouth shut for 12 years in prison, Hemingway is released to search for his long-awaited glory. A self-proclaimed legend who wants what he’s owed by his associates, and also what he’s owed by life.
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The plot is somewhat overdone in many aspects and sometimes loses track of balance and consistency, remaining watchable till the end only due to Jude Law’s great performance. (2.5 stars)
At times a crass, violent, and charming affair - while other times its a predictable, slow, and misguided mess. Law's performance is about the only stable element of the entire film - he's funny, crude, and brutish. The film's style was quirky in general, fun but nothing revolutionary - falling somewhere oddly between something by Wes Anderson and Refn's Bronson. Could have been much better with so much potential.
Jude Law gives a revelatory performance in a film that unfortunately fails to live up to the promise of its engaging first third. Once Dom makes it home from misadventure in France the film just grinds to a halt that no matter of cussing and clever asides can reboot. A real disappointment but certainly not the fault of Law or Grant. The opening ode to his anatomy is quite brilliant though.
An episodic character study of a British criminal struggling to be a deadbeat badass but unable to lose his innate humanity. This doesn't come close to the successes of Snatch or Withnail & I, but Jude Law and Richard E. Grant are infectiously watchable.
Carried entirely on the shoulders of Jude Law (w/ a fine performance by Grant), this fine black comedy is a frustrating one. One one hand you've got an unhinged Law (who gives one of his performances ever). And on the other, you've got a story that can't quite match up with Law. It's more a series of moments (some of them great) but it's screenplay could've used a little more work.
Not the greatest movie, but a really nice acting vehicle that reminded me how Jude Law sometimes flies under the radar. It also reminded me how awesome being drunk and screaming at people is.
Definitely fun to watch, riddled with cliches and some script contrivances that seem to have been written by a teenager schooled on 90s Brit-crime flicks, but something about J Laws portrayal of Dom as a perpetual underdog, albeit chronic screw up, makes this watchable even through the most cringe worthy of scenes and over the top delivered screen monologues.