12/13/00: A brilliant, ferocious beast of a movie. Easily my favorite film I've seen this year. (I was lucky enough to see this on a trip to Paris. It's not to be released in the U.S. until early 2001.) The sophomore film from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie, it's doubtless to be called next years Pulp Fiction or Trainspotting. And it is kind of funny how this parallels those films; they were also both sophomore films from their respective directors, who both had impressive debut films (Reservoir Dogs and Shallow Grave). They are both nearly perfect films (at least in my eyes), and Snatch is right there with them.

The title refers to a diamond theft (not the female genitalia). For American audiences it might be changed to Snatched, to be a less "offensive". At the start of the film we're introduced to all the characters with freeze frames and name tags. Most of them have catchy nicknames such as Bullet Tooth Tony, Boris the Blade, Brick Top, etc. The diamond is originally stolen by Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro), but it constantly changes hands through the film (much like the dope in Lock, Stock). However, the diamond only plays the McGuffin for the players to get wrapped up in.

Jason Statham from Lock, Stock plays Turkish, the narrator of the film. He's an underground boxing promoter who gets involved in the mess. Brad Pitt shows up for about 20 minutes as Mickey, a gypsy bare-knuckle boxer, with a indecipherable accent. It's another great off-the-wall performance by Pitt, who is easily putting his pretty boy image behind him. Dennis Farina plays his usual rough talking mobster. Vinnie Jones as Bullet Tooth, is basically playing the same tough-guy character from Lock, Stock, and is even introduced to us as he's slamming a guy in his car door. All together there is about 15 characters involved.

It is very similar to Lock, Stock, with the odd camera angles, slow motion, quick zoom-ins and freeze frames, only it's even better put together than that great film. Full of witty (British) dialogue, intersecting story-lines, and coincidences. It is really quite genius how all the characters become intertwined with each other. (Watch for the wonderful scene where a carton of milk is thrown out a car window, and the mayhem it causes.) With a rockin' soundtrack that fits the feel of the film perfectly. It's nonstop action, there's never a dull moment in the film. I just hope Ritchie can keep it up and his next film doesn't turn out to be a Jackie Brown or Life Less Ordinary.


Snatch
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