Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels had been released in 1998, but I got to see it on a DVD just a few days ago, and was left wondering why I hadn't seen or even heard of this film before. It's one of the best modern films I've seen in recent times, and suffice to say I've become a pretty big admirer of Guy Ritchie's directorial skills after this movie.
What's the story.....
The plot is a bit complex because there are quite a lot of characters involved, all of whom are integral to the storyline. The four primary characters, if I may call them so are Tom, Soap, Eddie and Bacon.
Eddie is an important member of the cast. A chef by profession, Eddie is also a master at playing cards, namely - poker. The four friends pool in 25,000 pounds each to help Eddie play a game of poker against an infamous gangster, Harry ''The Hatchet'' Lonsdale. Naturally, as luck would have have it, Harry cheats at his game and Eddie loses the game. Even worse, he ends up owning 500,000 pounds to Harry, who promises he would cut off Eddie and his four friends' fingers one by one if they failed to pay up in seven days. The foursome are thus at their wit's end wondering how they'll be able to collect 500,000 pounds in 7 days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twists and Turns...
This part is a bit hard to write without confusing you guys and more importantly, not getting muddled myself, but here goes...
a) There is another group of four friends involved, namely Winston, J, Charlie and Willie who have a unique approach towards life. They grow insanely large amounts of marijuana, and even smoke up earth shattering amounts of the fantastic shrub. Needless to say, their income is attributed to the selling of their home-grown stock to other people who prefer to buy the weed in large quantities and pay large amounts for them. They live in a guarded house near Eddie's home, and have a security system in the form of a locked cage in case any legal intruder chances to pounce unaware upon them.
b)Harry the Hatchet has two sidekicks of different natures, called Barry ''the Baptist'', and Big Chris.
Barry is a hefty bald fellow who works as Harry's bodyguard and counsellor, while Big Chris is more of a God fearing puritan - he hates swearing but can beat anyone to pulp if they do not comply to his orders. Big Chris works as Harry's debt-collector.
Harry orders Barry to steal two priceless antique shotguns for him. Barry contacts two local petty thugs, Gary and Dean and asks them to steal any guns that they would find in the gun cabinet of the respective owners. I must add here that these two gentlemen in question, alas are not what you would call mentally gifted. They steal the guns from the gun cabinet and give them to Barry, but sells the two antique guns to another small time crook, Nick the Greekat a throwaway price, thinking they are old and useless.
c)Next door to Eddie lives another pleasant character called Dog. He posseses some more intelligence than his canine name suggests, for he has devised a plan to rob the ganja growing foursome of their increasing wealth,both financial and herbal. Plank, who is Dog's trusty sidekick and a frequent visitor to the marijuana factory, will be the person who lets the gang in.
Now, Eddie and his friends happen to listen in to their next door neighbour's plan by chance, and decide that they will ambush Dog and his gang after they return from their endeavour and salvage the stolen drugs and money. Eddie also plants some bugging device on the wall so they are able to hear Dog's conversations better and keep themselves up-to-date regarding the gang's plans.
d) As it turns out, Nick the Greek is an accquaintance of Eddie. Eddie tells Nick of their plan and asks him to get him two guns in order for them to conduct the ambush. He promises Nick that he would pay him with a sufficient amount of weed to negate the cost. Nick agrees and gives him the two antique guns he had bought from Gary and Dean.
eMeanwhile, Harry has realized that the guns Barry has brought him are worthless and orders him to get the real guns. Barry threatens Gary and Dean and orders them to retrieve the antique guns. When Gary and Dean contact Nick, he tells them that he has sold them and can't be returned. However, the two thugs are so afraid of Barry that they decide to get hold of the guns themselves.
f)Dog and his gang raid Winston and co's botanical laboratory as planned and return with the loot, only to find four masked men with guns(Eddie and friends) waiting for them. Eddie and co successfully grab the loot, leave it at their place and go out to celebrate. Dog finds out that his next door neighbours are responsible when he throws Plank across the room in a wrath with such force that the wall breaks down and he finds the loot in the next apartment. Enraged, he and his men wait for Eddie to arrive.
g)The final twist in this intriguing plot is carried out by Nick the Greek. He takes a sample of the marijuana from Eddie(which they had looted from Dog) to a big shot drug smuggler called Rory Breaker. When Rory(who'll vaguely remind you of Jimi Hendrix), who's already as cracked in the head as you'll ever find anyone, finds out that Nick's selling him marijuana that he himself manufactures(unfortunately the ganja lab was under the supervision of this Hendrix lad), he confronts Nick. The poor stuttering Nick reveals that he had received the drugs from Eddie. Furious, Rory and gang head towards Eddie's house to ''put some sense into their heads''.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've mentioned a lot....the intriguing conclusion to the story is for you to watch and find out...who gets the money, dope and guns ?? What happens to all the gangs, and to Eddie and the Weed growers?? What happens to Harry?? The ending will leave you very satisfied though it's not at all what you expect, if you can guess anything at all...
The Positives
Aplenty. The acting is great, although in parts the stiff British acting let you down a bit, but that's very rare. I should mention that the entire cast is male, barring two female characters, one of whom has very little importance or dialogue and the other has none at all. The camerawork is something to behold - crisp and colourful, and the editing is so slick. It's unlike any ordinary English film you'll see, for the entire aura that Ritchie creates through this film is so very aptly different and classy. Ritchie literally has created a style of film-making through this movie.
I got the feeling that each camera movement represented the work of a master director, so very unique....kind of like the feeling you get when you watch a Kubrick, Tarantino or a Scorsese film - you identify the director through his film. The way in which all the subtle nuances and the complex sub plots are handled are superb, and leave no space for disappointment. Definite four star rating, if not more, I'd say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
