Delightfully dingy

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2019)

Snatch is a glimpse into the dark mind of Guy Ritchie, a man who has continuously created seemingly dark films, from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Snatch has the same feel as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, which shows us that his love for intricate plots, wry wit, and dingy settings is never ending. With Snatch, Guy Ritchie brings angsty violence to a new level, as if Jeffrey Dahmer and David Fincher got together for coffee (or perhaps tea) in the criminal underworld of Britain.
The film weaves two stories together, that of a hunt for an 84-carat diamond and an unlicensed boxing match. The diamond is stolen in Antwerp by Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) to give to Cousin Avi (Dennis Farina) back in New York City. Franky is a relaxed heistman and Avi is, simply put, a precursor to the rough-around-the-edges J.K. Simmons in Spiderman. Once in possession of the diamond, Franky naively takes advice from two men, a robber who recommends Franky visit Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija) for weapons and Avi who sends Franky to Doug the Head (Mike Reid) for a proper appraisal. Boris, an ex-KGB agent, sends Franky to the bookies on his behalf in exchange for a gun, and proceeds to send a trio of inexperienced crooks to rob the same bookies.
We then find Turkish, a disgruntled Jason Statham, and his partner Tommy, an innocent Stephen Graham, sitting in a dimly lit room. Turkish is a small-time boxing promoter who soon finds himself in need of a caravan to develop his business. Turkish and Tommy travel to a group of "pikies," irish travellers and speakers of a English-Irish hybrid language that you will need captioning to understand. Mickey (Brad Pitt), the leader, asks them if they like "dags," sells them a hunk of junk, punches out their prized boxer, and agrees to work as their new boxer in the meantime.
Brick Top (Alan Ford), the gangster coordinator of the unlicensed boxing match, practically owns Turkish and Tommy, in addition to hundreds of pigs he keeps in his basement. He is the disgusting and crude puppetmaster who punishes the weak and disloyal, and who controls everyone else in the story to do his bidding. Mickey continues to fight in Brick Top's boxing matches, and the diamond moves from person to person, reaching practically every character in this tangled web of filth.
The film continues from there, with most characters crossing stories, and reaches complete equilibrium during one iconic scene. We see Turkish and Tommy in one car, debating the morality of Turkish drinking milk. In another car are the three inexperienced robbers, Sol (Lennie James), Vinny (Robbie Gee), and Tyrone (Ade). The third car contains Cousin Avi, his bodyguard, and "bullet-tooth" Tony (Vinnie Jones), who Avi hired based on his refusal of death. Oh, and Boris is in the trunk of their car. Tommy throws Turkish's milk out the window and it lands on the third car with Avi, his bodyguard, and Tony inside, who crash into a pole. Boris, with a sack over his head, jumps out of the trunk and is hit by the second car, driven by Tyrone. This is truly where Ritchie brings the story together in a way that actually makes sense.
Aside from this one thoughtfully planned scene, Ritchie tightens the loose-fitting plot with music by John Murphy. He distinguishes the serious moments from the comic ones through the background music. In the opening credits, we hear generic bad punk rock as bright colors and spinning images mirror the music, matching the ever gaudy 90s-style of Lola Rennt. When we meet Brick Top, an ominous and Godfather-esque track plays to show us he truly is the top dog. Ritchie makes it so, when we say "oh shoot" to ourselves while watching, the music determines whether it's said with a smile or with wide eyes.
He also uses dry humor to make chopping up a body seem like chopping vegetables, and this humor makes the religious and nationality jokes easier to swallow. The humor is in the dialogue and the cinematography. Ritchie employs quick jokes such as when Boris the Blade says,"Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it," referring to a gun he is selling. Ritchie also uses quick camera cuts, jumping from one character to another as he did in the triple-car scene, to make the scene that much funnier. These are staples in european comedy films and this is truly where the comedy lies, in dry and fast humor with dry and fast camera cuts. For those of us not generally accustomed to British humor, it will take at least a few viewings to understand the jokes, and even more to understand the plot.
Ritchie created a darkly comical film with a complicated plot, a film that is identical in formula to its predecessor, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Where Snatch lacks in drugs and humor, it makes up for in quick cuts, one-liners and violence. Snatch takes the notorious parts of Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, and Oceans Eleven, puts them in a box, and ties it with a pigskin bow.
"Anything to declare?"
"Yeah. Don't go to England."