Near top of genre

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2003)

For years and years in the 50's and 60's the western was the leading genre in movies. Now, the gangster film currently enjoys that title, and "Snatch" stands as one of the more enjoyable of that lot. "Snatch" sets out to entertain, pure and simple. As you'd expect from a film about Cockney gangsters, the film offers distinct, quirky characters. It helps greatly that skillful actors inhabit each part and clearly relish the opportunities. Add the visual and editing stylishness informed by the director's experience with music videos, good choices in pop music (except for the Madonna stuff), and lots of plot twists, and you get an entertaining film. It's not Oscar-worthy stuff, but it is fun.
A word about Brad Pitt's accent in the film. Many have called it the worst Irish accent they've ever heard. This would be an insult to Pitt's craft but for the fact that it's plainly explained in the film that he's not Irish. He's a "gypo", or gypsy. And while he may have Irish ancestry, his gypsy vocation incents him to muddle his pronunciation and accent to something that sounds vaguely like speaking but is nearly completely unintelligible at first blush (one catches on after a few listens).