RocknRolla

RocknRolla (Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton) – “One Two,” “Mumbles” and “Handsome Bob” make up the Wild Bunch while Johnny Quid, the son of Lenny, is his rock ‘n’ roll son who is rumored to be dead.  If you can follow the complicated plot that ensues as well as the heavy British accents and the loud, hard rock score, you will find this an amusing, saucy search for money and a valuable painting.  The organized criminals and the disorganized ones, too, all get involved in the hunt for the goods.  The center of the story is Lenny, a real estate godfather, played by the venerable Tom Wilkinson, and his chief lieutenant, Archie.  Mark Strong, who was very good as Hani in Body of Lies, plays the latter.  This is the second time Strong has collaborated with director Guy Ritchie, most frequently known as soon-to-be-ex Mr. Madonna.  Lenny is a deal maker and a ruthless rapscallion whose is eventually confronted by his not-so-dead “rock ‘n’ roller.”  I spent most of the film fighting my eyelids, mostly due to my difficulty picking up the accents amidst the too-loud soundtrack.  But as I began to pick up the dialogue, I realized it was hysterically bizarre, particularly among the Wild Bunch, led by the character nicknamed One Two, played by the talented Gerard Butler (P.S. I Love You).  If you think this all sounds bizarre, add the woman (played by Thandie Newton, who played Condeleeza Rice in W.) who finds the money to finance the real estate venture for a Russian thug.  He’s the one whose favorite painting gets lent, then stolen, bought, and then stolen again.  If you like complicated plots with lots of guns, drugs, and rock and roll, you might enjoy this film.  If not, this is very skippable.

 

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