'Snatch'

If a movie could have ADD, Snatch would be it. An eye popping, furiously-paced melange of graphics, jump cuts and freeze-frames, it's a black-humored (very black-humored) look at the underside of London, as experienced by an exotic band of thugs, promoters, thieves, gypies and hustlers. Warning: Plot is discussed but nothing is given away. Please add your own reviews, as usual.

Snatch is a wild, British version of Dick Tracy meets MTV.

People have names like "Bullet Tooth Tony," "Boris the Blade," "Brick Top" and "Franky Four Fingers." Shots get repeated; scenes are shown from different angles with different colored filters; characters whiz through so quickly it's impossible to keep track of them. It's not really clear whether Guy Ritchie (otherwise known as Madonna's new hubby) is going tongue-in-cheek all the way, aiming for a live cartoon, is giving us the bird, or if he's trying to slip in a serious or coherent movie between the rapid rat-a-tat of graphics, flashbacks, jerky, hand-held camera work and freeze-frames.

The so-called underside of London, also the setting of Ritchie's debut feature, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, has become his directorial turf.

Seedy characters abound -- mumbling, scamming Gypsies, surly bookies, shady boxing promoter, gun dealers, thieving jewel merchants (Dennis Farina) -- all tangled in the complex plot that starts with the theft of a humungus stolen diamond and ends up see-sawing all over. Brad Pitt plays an incoherent Gypsy fighter and Benicio Del Toro a ne'er-do-well courier.

Definitely a hoot, the movie is also a bit disengaging, almost disorienting. You can't possibly know or care much about anybody in it, since nobody is onscreen for longer than a few seconds at any given stretch. And there's a big cast. The movie speeds past so quickly, shot in so self-consciously and intrusive (and fascinating, sometimes) a way, that the audience can end up feeling detached. Even the bitingly funny parts whiz by in a blur, and the humor here is beyond black, as in killing people in especially horrible ways.

Alan Ford nearly steals the movie, playing the joyously ferocious, all-purpose monster/gangster Brick Top, whose passion is chopping up his victims and feeding them to the pigs in "six pieces." If he's telling the truth about pigs' eating habits, then it's really foolish to dispose of bodies any other way.

The problem with Snatch is that for all the great acting, bravura cinematography and atmospheric British grunginess (there's a whiff or two of Trainspotting here), it explodes rather than unfolds, and it keeps on exploding for 105 minutes. It's dizzying, not boring -- and it's often very entertaining -- but sadly, it doesn't stick; an hour after leaving the theater, it's hard to remember it at all.

Comments

Re:snatch?

[Boost Ventilator]

Snatch does have other meanings, ya'know....and you would have to be pretty misguided to think it was a porno after seeing a trailer or hearing about the cast that was involved. As far as I know, Snatch doesn't have the same vaginal meaning in England as it does over here (someone from across the pond might want to clear that up for us). Earlier on, I heard that it was going to be released in North America as "Snatch'd" but I guess they never had to change it. We all know that "shag" is not as casual an expression in England and the funny thing is I heard that "fanny" means exactly what we North Americans think "snatch" means on their turf.

Overall, I thought the movie was a very flashy and funny and since it has a convoluted plot,
would probably benefit from repeated viewings. Brad Pitt was great as a fast-talking, slack-jawed Pikey, Alan Ford was suberb as Brick Top, and Bencio Del Toro was probably the most underused actor in the mix.

If you liked "Lock, Stock..." you will most likely enjoy this romp.

Leave it out, it's marvellous!

[mattbland]

I'm sure that the majority of Americans just don't "get" good British films.... especially Katz.

The comedy is dark, of course it is we're dealing with bloody villians who wouldn't look at, nevermind laugh at, Friends, Sienfeld or Fraiser.

Bad people do bad things, and actually they can be very funny when looked at in this context. Key to this is the fact that they're always trying hard for things to work out right, but they never do.

It's got spirit and character. It might not be everyones cup of joe, but it's not a mainstream film is it?

All I can say is, if you don't like this film you're probably 'f#cked, proper f#cked'.

p.s. keep an eye out for 'zee germans'!

rLowe's Review .... :)

[rlowe69]

Snatch was a good flick overall, and while it won't go down with other gory/badass/humour movies like Pulp Fiction or The Usual Suspects, it is still one of those movies you HAVE to see ... like a Trainspotting, because it is so damn interesting ...

IMHO, there wasn't a lot of jittery camera movement. I think what people are talking about is the editing that was done ... some of the cuts go by so fast they will make your head spin (ie. the quick concorde flight from New York to London), but that's what makes this movie so interesting to watch ...

As for the plot, sometimes it's nice to NOT KNOW what the hell is going on ... some directors like it better this way .... besides, the ending brought it together so nicely that it didn't matter if you didn't understand the whole beginning - you'll get it by the end.

Definitely worth the 12 Canadian bucks. 8/10

my two cents

[Alien54]

If nothing else, it *might* retain a certain cult success in the rental market, just because of people with their DVDs going through the movie in slow motion just to see all of the details they missed.

Since many folks don't need a headache when going out to see a movie, the word of mouth will be mixed at best. It is all right to have an artistic success, but if you make it hard for people to enjoy your movie, this will limit your commercial success.

British Review

[Sirch]

This film was in Britain about 4/5 months ago. I went to see it, having seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels about a month before.

With Lock, Stock still relatively fresh in my mind ("Chill, Winstaaan"), I felt that the plots were the same - something gets stolen, everyone wants the same thing, it ends up in the hands of the characters that you want it to in the end, and it all works out. Forgive the mathematical analogy, but it's like the plots of both oscillate around the same, straight line.

The intelligence, and humour of the film, though, lies in those oscillations. This isn't a film, it's a movie. It's there to be enjoyed, not endlessly analyzed. In that way, this is yet another successful Guy Richie movie.

Quite a few of the characters in Snatch are played by well-known actors in Britain. Mike Reid plays basically the same character as he does in Eastenders, a soap opera. Vinnie Jones, ex-professional soccer player-turned actor (Lock, Stock and Gone in 60 Seconds) plays the same character as he did in Lock, Stock and on the soccer pitch.

Whilst Snatch is full of stereotyping, it is still enjoyable, and hilarious. Brad Pitt puts in an excellent performance as the Irish gypsy bareknuckle fighter who won't take a fall.

The end result is full of slick, fast editing and good cameos. The results of Richie's directing are far better than Richard Curtis' weak romantic comedies (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill), and leaves you with a warm feeling inside - not an empty one, as Trainspotting, one of Britain's best exports, did.

8.5/10 - Samey, but still fun.

--

Can't imagine..

[JonKatz]

I've done a lot of dumb things in my life but I've never hired me..My opinion is no better or worse than yours, I suspect.

Snatch, and another British movie to see

[Tumbleweed]

I thought Snatch was very good, and quite funny. I was laughing my butt off throughout most of it. And I thought the ending was great! (wish the Concorde *really* flew that fast! :) The thing I thought when I walked out of that movie was, "That's what Quentin Tarantino _wishes_ he could do!"

Another British movie I've seen recently is MUCH BETTER, though it's a vastly different type of movie - 'Billy Elliot'. This is a great movie about a young boy in a northern England mining town during a miner's strike. He secretly substitutes ballet lessons for his dad-approved boxing lessons, and winds up doing quite well. All hell breaks loose, of course, when dad finds out. Also during all this is a lot of trouble because of the miner's strike. The movie is filled with strange and fascinating (and likeable!) characters, and it's got a fantastic soundtrack (half of which are songs by T. Rex). An amazing movie, and easily my favourite British movie. Among my top 10 right now (though that list changes a lot). Definitely worth seeing, and that's also one I'll get on DVD once it's available.

Another recent British movie that was quite nice is 'Saving Grace', about a widow who resorts to growing marijuana in her greenhouse to meet the mortgage payment. This is an hilarious movie, and well worth seeing.

Everyone's seen 'Trainspotting' and 'The Full Monty', but the one most haven't seen is 'Brassed Off', another 'mining town on strike' movie, but this one has a twist - the company brass band is the main thing - Pete Postlethwaite is the band leader trying to keep the band together despite the town falling apart because of the mine shutdown. He manages to do so, and even gets the band into a competition. Things get more interesting when a newcomer to the band causes a stir - she's a woman! (gasp) Played by Tara Fitzgerald. The movie also has Ewan MacGregor (young Obi Wan, for you geeks). An excellent movie, among the best of the recent British efforts.

I guess when all the musical talent left Britain at the end of the eighties, the talent moved over to the movie industry - there are some really excellent British movies these days.