Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels                Guy Ritchie Director Guy Ritchie Screenwriter                                                         Cast                                                          Jason Flemyng Tom Dexter Fletcher Soap Nick Moran Eddie Jason Statham Bacon                                              Other Information                                           1999 105 Minutes Rated R In English

Many people will recognize the name Guy Ritchie only because he happens to be married to Madonna; but to his own credit, Ritchie is also one of England's most promising young filmmakers. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Ritchie's first major motion picture, is a wry, intricate gangster film that is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction or even of Doug Liman's Go. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels follows the misadventures of four likable lads from London's gritty East End. After a disastrous high-stakes card game, the four friends rack up an enormous debt to the local underworld pornmonger—a man with the ominous name of "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale. When faced with the unsavory consequences of defaulting on their debt, the foursome desperately tries to find a way to come up with the necessary cash. In time, they devise a plan to take the money from their unscrupulous next-door neighbors, who in turn have planned to steal from a bunch of hapless drug growers. Of course, even the simplest of schemes rarely go as planned.

Like all good gangster films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels features several intertwining, violent storylines that become increasingly complex as they spin out of control, eventually coming together again in a thrilling climax. The various actors generally perform quite well in their vulgar and often unsympathetic roles. Also, take special note of a cameo appearance by Sting as the father of one of the protagonists. Viewers who are willing to try to wade through the characters' thick and slangy English accents will be thoroughly rewarded by a sharp undercurrent of offbeat humor. As a filmmaker, Guy Ritchie has an appealing visual style, filled with slick cinematographic devices. Most importantly, however, is that Ritchie does not weigh his film down by taking it too seriously; consequently, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels achieves greatness with wonderfully eccentric characters, intense action, unconventional comedy, and breathless suspense.

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