Laureen: Mama’s Got a Brand New Swear
I admit it, I have a huge weakness for modern British gangster movies — to the point where I’ll forgive Guy Ritchie for almost anything. The slick production, the well-dressed hoods, the creative swearing… I love every little bit of it. 44 Inch Chest (think furniture, not boobs) isn’t just a superb addition to the roster; it’s a veritable force of all things British underworld. Basically, it gathers up everything you’d expect from a gangster film, takes a giant step back, and forces you to intently ponder the men behind the madness. It’s like Snatch grew up, took smart pills, and wrote a novel (and trust me, I love me some Snatch). All that, and it’s got one of the best opening scenes (not to mention some of the most memorable swearing) I’ve ever seen in a move. Ever.
John: Fecking C*nts (and the Right Fecking C*nts Who Love Them)
One of my favorite characters of all time is Ben Kingsley’s Don Logan from Sexy Beast – a psychopathic, verbose, and spectacularly off-color thug who becomes, despite everything, a fascinating and almost sympathetic character. 44 Inch Chest, another British gangster
turn from the same writers, is much more of a group effort than their prior film. The writers deal Don Logan’s various sociopathic traits to their ensemble cast like a deck of cards, and then set them loose on each other, resulting in some of the funniest foul-mouthery this side of Glengarry Glen Ross. Despite all the verbal fireworks, this movie maintains a strong undercurrent of dramatic restraint - and, to top it all off, it’s beautifully filmed.
The Consensus: Watch it now. Maybe twice.
Biggest Surprise: How cerebral each scene is, despite the explicit (and implicit) violence.
Favorite Character: Old Man Peanut
Most Necessary Re-Do: Our only complaint was that the jumps in time were initially confusing, sometimes to the point of distraction.
New Tagline: Ray Winstone Can and Will Kick Your Ass
