The Gentlemen (2019)
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An American drug lord's attempt to sell his UK-based cannabis empire triggers a chaotic chain of blackmail and rival schemes.
The story
Michael "Mickey" Pearson, a Florida-raised American who built a massive criminal cannabis empire in the United Kingdom, decides it is time to sell his business and retire with his wife, Rosalind. He sets a high price for the acquisition, but the process is complicated by the involvement of various parties. When he attempts to sell the empire, he is approached by a Chinese gangster, Dry Eye, who offers a buyout. Simultaneously, a group of amateur fighters and a tabloid editor begin their own maneuvers to expose his operations, leading to a web of escalating tensions and dangerous confrontations as the deal moves forward.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Michael "Mickey" Pearson, a Florida-raised American who built a massive criminal cannabis empire in the United Kingdom, seeks to sell his business for £400 million to retire with his wife, Rosalind. The sale is complicated by a rival offer from a Chinese gangster, Dry Eye, and the actions of 'The Toddlers,' a group of amateur fighters who leak information about Pearson's labs. A tabloid editor, Big Dave, hires a private detective, Fletcher, to investigate Pearson's ties to a local nobleman. Amidst these investigations, a girl named Laura, the daughter of a duke, dies of an overdose after being brought home by Pearson's men. Dry Eye, secretly allied with the American buyer, attempts to kidnap Rosalind but is killed by her. Fletcher attempts to blackmail Pearson, but his evidence is neutralized by Pearson's right-hand man, Raymond. When the American buyer, Matthew Berger, tries to lower the price due to the chaos, Pearson retaliates by trapping him in a freezer. Finally, after surviving an assassination attempt by Russian hitmen, Pearson and his team successfully secure their empire, while Fletcher is captured by Raymond.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Guy Ritchie
- Writers
- Guy Ritchie · screenplay; Guy Ritchie · story; Ivan Atkinson · story; Marn Davies · story
- Cast and characters
- Matthew McConaughey; Charlie Hunnam; Henry Golding; Michelle Dockery; Jeremy Strong; Eddie Marsan; Colin Farrell; Hugh Grant
- Genres
- action; comedy; crime
- Themes
- organized crime; betrayal; power struggles
- Tone and mood
- brash; action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- crime; drug trade; underworld
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 44; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 3.5 · scale: 5
- Production trivia
- A spin-off television series was released on Netflix in 2024.; The film was inspired by the spirit of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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