You have to give Guy Ritchie credit. He knows how to promote a movie. He married Madonna on December 22, 2000, the same week that Snatch went into wide release in the U.S. And like his previous film, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), it quickly achieved cult status among those who enjoy quirky, fast-paced gangster films.

The plot has Turkish (Jason Statham) and his less competent best friend Tommy (Stephen Graham) getting over their heads in the underground British boxing scene. Their gypsy fighter Mickey (Brad Pitt) is expected to take a dive to suit crooked promoter Brick Top (Alan Ford).

A less successful storyline involves an enormous and flawless diamond, which of course becomes the subject of intense gangster activity. The diamond frequently changes hands among the supporting cast, a surprising number of which are senior citizens.

While undeniably entertaining, Snatch does have its problems. There are too many characters, which are introduced in bewildering fashion at the beginning of the movie. It is simply impossible to comprehend the various relationships and roles of these people in an initial viewing. This may be a deliberate strategy by Ritchie, to keep the viewer's attention on the rapidly moving camera and not on the intricacies of the plot or characters.

Things keep happening, and we are asked to absorb the events rather than reflect upon them. Ritchie began his career with music videos, and the extremely tight editing suits his preference of activity and flair over consistent storytelling.

Snatch is often compared with Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, but the latter is by far the better film. Tarantino is better at building characters, he's a much better writer of dialogue, and he incorporates the score into the film with greater assurance.

Tarantino is not adverse to long takes (e.g. the watch scene with Christopher Walken) because he doesn't necessarily rely upon editing to convey the story. The characters and dialogue can account for themselves.

Snatch does achieve this briefly, when Brick Top instructs would-be hoodlums in the best method of disposing of a body. It turns out that pigs have uses besides ham and pork chops.

The film has many amusing or interesting moments. Pitt's eventual revenge is satisfying. A montage that depicts a knocked down boxer as a drowning man is effective. The travails of hapless hoods Sol (Lennie James) and Vinny (Robbie Gee) provide reasonable comic relief.

Snatch is a competent gangster film, even if it suffers in comparison with the Tarantino movies that it emulates. One hopes, however, that Guy Ritchie will take the commercial risk of finding his own filmmaking identity. Perhaps this will be the case for his upcoming project, Swept Away, a desert island romance flick that stars his wife Madonna. (51/100)

k@filmsgraded.com, filmsgraded.com


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age