British film director Guy Ritchie’s first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, was a film in the tradition of Pulp Fiction, one that centers upon the people we usually consider the “bad guys” throughout their various misadventures. Snatch, Ritchie’s recent release, follows in the same vein as his previous work, yet this film manages to put a new and entertaining spin on the conventions we’ve become accustomed to. The fast-paced editing of the film sets the mood and helps the film surpass his previous work in audience with a healthy mix of sarcasm and wit.
The film’s plot deals with the theft of a diamond the size of a fist and the various criminals who try to wrest control of this item from each other. With multiple twists and turns involving botched robberies and boxing matches, Snatch keeps its audience engaged constantly, demanding a high amount of audience attention but rewarding that concentration by making each development more outrageous and funny than the last.
With so many characters zipping across the screen at break-neck speeds, it would seem to be easy to lose track of them all. But Ritchie balances each concurrently running plot so well that we never get confused. This delicate equilibrium starts out in the very beginning of the film when we receive a fast-paced introduction to the cast of characters, complete with title cards that identify them by the crazy and memorable names they go by, like Boris the Blade and Bullethead Tony. Ritchie is clearly catering to American audiences with these introductions, as many who saw his first film found it difficult to keep track of its numerous and nameless characters that all seemed to look alike. He even includes an American character played with great comedic timing by Dennis Farina, a real fish out of water who we can identify with when things start getting complicated.
Ritchie’s keen job of keeping his audience in mind goes beyond helping us keep each of the many characters straight. He also recognizes that American audiences had trouble understanding the thick accents of the characters in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, so he takes great care to make each of the accents completely understandable. Then, as a joke, the most incomprehensible of accents is displayed by an American actor, Brad Pitt playing an amateur boxer. His complete lack of clarity makes people think he’s a moron, usually to their detriment. The shrewd mind behind the façade of drunken idiocy is well-handled by Pitt, who always maintains a mischievous gleam in his character’s eye so we can see the wheels turning even when the other characters cannot.
Each of these characters that we meet manages to be likable despite the occasional character flaw such as a tendency to use brute force to impose their wills on others. In fact, many of the characters aren’t even that bad. The younger cast members seem to be criminals just as a way to make money, and their attempts to perform bad deeds usually go awry. It’s only the elder criminals that are more grizzled and seem to enjoy being mean. These few that are despicable make up for the likable traits in other characters by being even more appalling, inflicting terror upon even those who seem hardened.
By drawing clear distinctions between the people we’re supposed to root for and the true villains, and also by ensuring that the really bad ones get their come-uppance in the end, Guy Ritchie moves the film beyond its roots in dark comedy into a really enjoyable thriller, while still never losing sight of the wit that makes it so amusing. Snatch is a truly satisfying movie that really delivers the laughs and makes for a fun night at the movies.
