A former soldier inherits a Dukedom and his family’s estate but finds himself immersed in a criminal underworld when his brother reveals some shocking debts to a Liverpudlian gang. New Duke, Eddie (Theo James), must navigate his way through the drugs business and protect himself and his family from threats, by allies and enemies alike.
There’s no doubt that Guy Ritchie knows his way around a gangster film, so adapting his 2019 film The Gentlemen into an 8-episode TV series shouldn’t be too much of a leap, or so you’d think.
The show stays true to Ritchie’s reliable formula of criminality and comedy, albeit with the addition of some questionable writing decisions, but is overall sustained by the skills and efforts of a remarkable and stacked cast, with talents such as Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Daniel Ings and Vinnie Jones. With a pre-established setting of drug farms hidden amongst the estates of England’s elite, the series is a prime example of ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’ The Gentlemen series is jam-packed with heists, gunfire, fistfights, and mobsters in tracksuits. Displaying a similar talent for action scenes, an ear-worming soundtrack, and a running gag of vibrant yellow onscreen text to tie it all together.
Ritchie displays a clear skill with wordplay and snappy banter, which serves to drive much of the unresolved tension between Eddie and his newfound business partner Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario), a fact which is only strengthened by the chemistry between the two actors. Scodelario takes advantage of her increased screen time as the show goes on to steal the show with her line delivery and portrayal of the no-nonsense, resourceful Susie Glass, a brilliant counterpart to the resourceful but out of his depth Eddie Halstead.
The main pitfall I believe is that without the 2-hour time constraint of the original film, Ritchie must resort to some ridiculous scenarios to meet his 8-episode threshold. The Duke’s brother, Freddie (Daniel Ings), proves to be a serious liability at every opportunity which at first appears amusing quickly morphs into frustration. His impulsivity and gambling addiction leads to a whole web of problems for Eddie, which does create terrific friction between the two, it also appears to drive much of the plot, with most episodes revolving around cleaning up Freddie’s messes. This in combination with a gratuitous use of miscommunication to drive tension between Eddie and other characters leads to dwindling effects.
The show would have probably benefitted from a smaller number of episodes to keep its pace up.
This frustration is only amplified by the predictability of the show’s ‘villain’, Stanley Johnson (Giancarlo Esposito), a rival American drug lord seeking to buy Eddie’s family estate to gain control of the marijuana farm operating there. Giancarlo Esposito is given little screen time to demonstrate his capabilities and the attempts to hide Johnson’s part in the challenges faced by Eddie and Glass is almost insulting to the intelligence of the audience.
Despite its pitfalls this show is still very much worth the watch, a bingeworthy series featuring drugs, murder, betrayal and the irresistible tension between Theo James and Kaya Scodelario.