LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS
At first, "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" relies heavily on trick photography and special effects to grab the audience’s attention. A narrator introduces key players, freeze frames hold unfamiliar faces up for scrutiny, and under-cranked cameras give the movie the feel of the Keystone Cops without the slapstick. But just when the film begins to sag, it pauses long enough for the audience to think about the foundation that was built to support the changing shape of the film.
The rest of the very British "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" has all the classic ingredients of a demented Looney Tune - sight gags, violence, and suspense. Think of it as a Keystone gangster comedy with real consequences. The circuitous plot about a crooked card game, mistaken identities, several gangs trying to rip each other off, and the fate of two antique muskets, never falters. The pace increases geometrically with each outrageous situation proportionately more epic than the last. "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" becomes an explosive mixture of shoot outs, double crosses, mistaken identities, and clueless victims.
It is virtually impossible to keep track of most of the characters by name since all but two of the actors, Sting and Nicholas Rowe("Young Sherlock Holmes"), should be unfamiliar to American audiences. It’s a lot easier to keep track of them by groupings, since they have an easily identifiable collective identity. There’s the four friends - the ‘heroes’ ( I use the term loosely) - who stake one of their own to a big card game, the downscale yuppie would-be tough-guy drug peddlers, the Jamaican gang who supplies them with ganja, and the local gangsters looking for easy pickings. Then there’s Hatchet Harry, the big time racketeer who runs a porno business, a loan shark operation, and the crooked card game that puts the ‘heroes’ in his debt. He also has a thing for two antique muskets which are worth enough British pounds to satisfy the heroes’ debt. Only Harry and his enforcer, Barry the Baptist(who reminds me of Tor Johnson from "Plan 9 from Outer Space") know what they’re worth. Barry hires two thugs to steal a gun collection that comes up two short. They have to find the guns ‘or else!’ The interplay between the ‘heroes,’ Harry’s minions, the yuppie drug dealers, the local gang, the Jamaican mob, and a freelance strong arm debt collector who’s teaching his son the trade, is carried out with the precision of a Swiss clock. Nothing is out of place. Every moment is perfectly timed. And a sense of irony runs rampant throughout!
The only thing missing from writer/director - Guy Ritchie’s brainchild is human warmth. With the exception of JD(Sting), a world weary bar owner and father of the card playing hero, the people who inhabit his first film are more like pawns on the chess board of London’s streets. It’s a good thing that Ritchie is such a good strategist and knows how to convey the thrill of the game. I’m sure his future films will have a lot more heart and soul without sacrificing the qualities that made "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" such fun.
Suggested Video Pix
If you’re in the mood for a hard core British gangster film
"The Long Good Friday" (1981) - The movie that brought Bob Hoskins to international attention. A top notch mob film with a great surprise ending. Helen Mirren is his woman!
"The Krays" (1990) - Dir. Peter Medak. Character study of real life twins who wreaked havoc on London in the 60’s with Gary and Martin Kemp from the rock group, Spandau Ballet. Uncompromising, brutal, and fascinating.
On the lighter side
"The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight" (1971) - Title tells all. Based on the best seller by Jimmy Breslin. Not a great film, but worth seeing just to see Robert De Niro before his career took off. With Jerry Ohrbach, and Herve Villechaize before Fantasy Island.
"Palookaville" (1996) - An overlooked gem from the producer of "The Full Monty" about some unemployed friends from New Jersey who plan a heist to get some extra cash. Love and good intentions get in the way of their plans. Has the heart and soul missing from "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" but not the frenetic pace needed to make it a hit. The players make it work. With Vincent Gallo, Frances McDormand (Oscar winner from "Fargo"), and the always reliable William Forsythe(TV’s latest reincarnation of Al Capone).