Dom Hemingway

I just saw the gala premier at TIFF and overall, I enjoyed the film. The acting was terrific, with Jude Law playing Dom Hemingway in the lead. The first few minutes of the movie had me wondering what I had gotten myself into, as it really starts off with a bang (or a blow, perhaps). That feeling of not quite knowing what I was watching stayed with me for a bit, as the movie is vulgar, violent, funny, and awkward, sometimes all at once. In the end, I liked I really liked it and found myself rooting for Dom despite having a bunch of reasons not to. It's worth watching for the terrific acting, and the moments between Dom and Dickie when things get tense are great.

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.

Richard Shepherd's latest film is a maelstrom of bad behaviour in the best style of British crime comedies - it's impossible to not liken it to Guy Ritchie and his ilk - but this one stands out from the crowd as it features a stunning performance from Jude Law - he may have started his career with man in touch with his feminine qualities but here he is the full monty as the mockney gangster on steroids. Law cannot be accused of a lack of a commitment - he throws himself in with palpable relish - and shouts and swears his way in a remarkably winning performance. Subtle it ain't - but man it is genuinely entertainment, pure and simple.

The lasting impression is the tremendous energy of the script and Jude Law - it could really be a stage play in places - it is not often these days that movies create energy through an excellent script, rather than energy by effects - this does.

No way is this the greatest film of the year - but Jude Law's performance is full of sly humour, and Richard E Grant obviously loved being the dry sidekick - there is more than a touch of Withnail to the whole proceedings and he is superb.

Dom Hemingway avoids squeamish violence in the main and goes for the jugular in its script instead - it even has more than a touch of pathos admid the insanity. All in all, if you like films with some style, real laughs, and energy - and crude craziness - then this fits the bill better than most.

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.

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.