Review: The Gentlemen (Series)

Yeah, I'm procrastinating again. I've recently started running a Wiseguys campaign, and have been looking at possible adventure ideas in the spin-off setting Tuffguys (I talk about both of those here). While looking for inspiration, I found myself watching Guy Ritchie's latest series, The Gentlemen. 

Partly based on his 2019 film of the same name, The Gentlemen stars Theo James as Edward "Eddie" Horniman, the second son of the Duke of Halstead. A former UN peacekeeping officer, Eddie unexpectedly learns that his father has bequeathed his land and titles to him rather than his older brother Freddie, an irresponsible cocaine-addicted manchild played by Daniel Ings. Learning that his brother is in severe debt, and that the family is asset-rich but cash-poor, Eddie searches for ways to raise the money needed. He soon meets Susie Glass, played by Kaya Scodelario, the daughter of an imprisoned drug kingpin who had set up a secret cannabis farm on the estate. While Eddie makes an attempt to distance himself from the illicit operations in a bid to protect his family, he nonetheless shows an aptitude for the life.

While The Gentlemen shares its name with Guy Ritchie's earlier film, it's not a continuation of that story but rather a remake. It seems unusual to want to remake something of yours that's only been around for five years, but here we are. The main element of both stories is that a kingpin runs a network of secret cannabis farms on the estates of English aristocrats, many of whom struggle to pay for the upkeep and are glad to accept the bribes or favours. However, the series takes a different approach by utilising one of the aristocrats as the protagonist.

The series has some great characters. Eddie serves as a nice foil to his older brother, who throws a temper tantrum and rants about "primo-genital" when he's passed over. He spends most of the series suffering misfortune after misfortune, which can provide a mix of comic relief and genuine tension. For example, in the first episode he owes £8 million to a Livepudlian drug dealer named Tommy Dixon, played by Peter Serafinowicz. Susie negotiates with Tommy to pay half of what's owed, and Tommy agrees if he can film Freddie do a humiliating dance in a chicken suit. But he becomes so overbearing about the performance that Freddie ends up killing him. The events leading up to this go great lengths to showing how much Susie Glass and her family are respected by many in the underworld.

Other notable characters include Ritchie regular Vinnie Jones as Geoffrey Seacombe, the Horniman family's gamekeeper. While he's not your typical "tough guy" that Jones is known for playing, he still gets his threatening moments but also has plenty of pragmatic advice. Ray Winstone plays Bobby Glass, Susie's father and the head of the organisation who is enjoying luxurious conditions in prison.

If there's any other element that is carried over from the film, it's a wealthy American seeking to purchase the kingpin's operation. In the film, he was called Matthew Berger. The series version is Stanley Johnstone (with a "t"), played spectacularly by Giancarlo Esposito. It's actually quite similar to his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad (and it's even mentioned by Susie that he deals meth), but he does it so well. In fact, he gives a highly profound speech about how the English aristocracy were the original gangsters (one that seems to ring true these days). This becomes a running theme as the series goes on, especially as Eddie finds himself getting deeper and deeper into the life.

The Gentlemen is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it. There's only eight episodes, but it left me eager to find out what happens next.

Happy writing.