Dom Hemingway

As soon as the film started and Dom (Jude Law) begins a near 2 minute long speech proudly stating his admiration for a certain part of his anatomy, there was only one thing running through my mind; This is incredibly similar Tom Hardy's role as Bronson in the 2008 film; a watered down one.

The accent, the pronunciation and overall persona from Dom Hemingway just screams Bronson. If you haven't seen Bronson then you won't be able to associate it as easily and probably will enjoy the character more. I don't bring it up to in any way discourage Jude Law's performance; it is a great portrayal of a banged up Londoner who's out for financial retribution. A role you really can't associate with Jude Law and he does it justice on so many levels. It's not him that's the problem, it's the character. Not just the Bronson comparison, but the constant ranting throughout the film; full of synonyms and thesaurus like tirades. It becomes very repetitive.

There are some really funny moments, but like with the rest of the film the comedy starts to become slightly tedious. It is Dickie (Richard E Grant) who produces a lot of the witty comedy; he is funny throughout.

Still, a fairly good film with some good performances, violence, comedy, and a story of a hopeful father/daughter reconciliation to add to that.

This film tells the story of a notorious London criminal who was just released after twelve years in jail. He indulges in carnal pleasure and more money making schemes, until he realises what is really important to him.

"Dom Hemingway" starts off with a shocker scene of an almost unrecognisable Jude Law. His appearance is drastically changed from his heartthrob days! The unrecognisable Jude Law then goes on a monologue about his assets, which is so offensive and funny at the same time. Throughout the film, he puts on a good performance as an arrogant, ego-centric, foul mouthed alcoholic crook. Yet, he is likable for some unknown reason. His misbehaviour keeps on being entertaining, and the emotional elements work well too. The humour is a bit dark, but it is funny. For example, the car crash scene where people and objects (especially the hand) fly around made me laugh! I enjoyed watching "Dom Hemingway" a lot.

Admittedly there's not much to this film outside of Jude Law's force of nature performance, he's a filthy, foul mouthed monolith of vulgarity and nastiness, and a joy to watch, it's a true revelation of a turn for the actor, breaking his posh, pretty boy image to pieces and gobbing on those pieces. Sure there's not much to the script or story, which are threadbare and under nourishing, plus Richard E Grant is somewhat wasted despite being rather wonderful, and there are many coincidental contrivances that sully the film a bit towards the end, but enjoy it for Law, for the stylish, off kilter approach to the British gangster movie genre, for the many gloriously profane monologues and the general fun depravity of the thing, plus it gets extra points for being surprisingly moving come the third act, which does not seem remotely likely given the first two thirds. A solid cult movie in the making.

A disorienting and ultimately disarming movie about a brutal Cockney ex-con with Jude Law playing a part Bob Hoskins would have played 25 years ago. With slicked back, receding hair and mutton chops, Law acquits himself very convincingly as a profane, poetic thug. Just saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival and it's very entertaining, edgy and often gripping, with a satisfyingly soft heart, given all the criminality portrayed. Props to Richard E. Grant as his wiser sidekick and the rest of a wholly believable cast, most of whom I don't recognize. Dom is a character akin to the crazed gangster played by Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast and you can see why Law would relish this part. And he attacks it with relish, bravado and just enough vulnerability to actually make this brute likable. You end up rooting for him due not only to story circumstances, but his basic humanity despite his despicable behaviour. I don't know if real Cockney gangsters would buy Law in the part, but I did. Worth seeing.

Dom Hemingway is trying to add something new to the heritage of the great gangster-comedies of Guy Ritchie and Martin McDonagh, but it's trying too hard, and eventually it fails. Every scene is trying to be more bizarre and shocking than the last one, but they're rarely funny. The dialogues want to be witty and to be remembered, but actually they're just over-the-top curses and insults by the characters. Dom Hemingway (played amazingly by Jude Law) is not a hero, but also not an anti-hero: he's just a pathetic man who's getting drunk and high for the most part of the movie. They're waiting too long to add some dramatic depth to his character.

It has a couple of funny moments, but this movie is just too forced to be naturally funny. If you want to watch a film with a similar mood, but done better, I would recommend Filth for you.