Comparative analysis between Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Gregor Jordan’s Two Hands (1999)
The crime genre of film has some stereotypical characteristics that fall within the realms of narrative and storyline as well as the visual and audio aspects of cinema as well. And whilst most of these traits are continuous throughout the genre, it is when they are both created and placed within different social and cultural contexts that comparisons become interesting. A good example of this is an assessment of Guy Ritchie’s classic ally British 1998 film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Gregor Jordan’s Australian film from 1999, Two Hands. The main aspects within the similarities and differences to be examined here include: the influence and contexts of the directors themselves, the characterisation developed in the films cinluding the vernacular utilised throughout the films and the visual indications of culture such as costume and settings/locations.
The influence of a director in the creation of a film is paramount, and one must always consider what possible personal connotations they can bring to the experience. Even though Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was Guy Ritchie’s first feature film, with the value of hindsight, it is relatively impossible to argue against the fact that he is thoroughly a British director, and that this is evident in any films he has made. He has such a fascinatingly individual filmic style, fusing together violence and black comedy with witty dialogue and typical British values. He is held in high regard within the film industry and is seen as representative of British filmmaking, which often draws comparisons to other cultures. “Though he disclaims the comparison, Ritchie has been hailed as a British Tarantino because, like the American, he uses violence for comic shock and his dialogue bops and zings”[1]. This compares to that of Gregor Jordan, who does not quite have the same baggage surrounding his work and career, but tends to be patriotically Australian. Having directed Two Hands, Jordan also later went on to direct Ned Kelly (2003), also starring Heath Ledger, and also working within very fabric of Australian society, and community (albeit, in different contexts).
Characterisation is an essential cinematic tool, regardless of film genre or cultural context, and both these films have an abundance of it, successfully portraying the typical characteristics of their respective contexts. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels follows “four young lowlifes in the East End, desperate to pay off a gambling debt, snatch a pile of loot from dope dealers who are backed by Caribbean gangsters. This sets off a chain reaction of double dealings which pits all the gangs in the neighbourhood against one another. This really is a black comedy about a feeding frenzy: The gangsters are sharks maddened by the scent of blood, and we get to watch them feast in a very small tank”[2]. And Ritchie works with different aspects of characterisation to affect the audience and aid the storyline and visual narrative. “Here, baldness and fat and scragliness and squinty eyes become manifestations of malice. If all the killings in the final reels are bearable, it’s because we feel that a race of monsters is destroying itself so that humans (the four young hoods) may survive”[3]. Similarly to Ritchie, Jordan also employs the use of a large cast, including a large immediate circle of virtual main characters. The language and dialect in both films is also a tell tale sign to indicate the cultural context. One aspect of the dialogue consistent in both films is the swearing, the obscene language is successful utilised though, mainly because as crime films, they help to create particular, tough, and rough images of the criminals and those involved in the underground. In Two Hands, obviously the audience is listening to some typical Australian accents, helping Australian audiences relate to the characters, although some responders from elsewhere may find some parts hard to understand. This is also the case in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, where Ritchie uses it as a cinematic tool and it works in conjunction with the other aspects of his filmmaking such as characterisation, violence and to fulfil comedic purposes. “The comedy is abetted by writer-director Guy Ritchie’s dialogue, which has a cockney pungency and wit”[4]. But also in the way that the“cockney dialogue presents no major problems for North Americans, though it requires some attentiveness. (One scene, in Cockney rhyming slang, is subtitled for comic effect)[5]”. And the last indicator of characterization and cultural context is in visual terms; making use of specific costuming and location shooting that is relevant to each country and society. In Two Hands, we see what has developed into quite the phenomenon itself, the Australian criminal in his shorts and thongs. This is so perfectly played by Bryan Brown as Pando, the gang leader and all around badass, but still has that Australian laid back, causal nature to him. Also the props utilized by the characters and used within the film also indicate the social context (such as the Parramatta Eels stubbie holders, and the Holden cars parked out the front of the houses). These aspects are mirrored in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, where the characters are dressed in typical British attire, dressing appropriately for the weather, and working with props used to everyday British life, contributing to the realistic feel Ritchie successfully creates. One of the most prominent aspects of creating this is also the locations within the film, the settings in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, are typically British, filmed in real locations and used to portray the British underground. Also within Jordan’s film, we see typical Australian suburban life, with appearances of Bondi Beach and the surrounding aspects of the community, as well as the integral use of Kings Cross as a location for gang voilence, drug deals and breeding ground for volitile relationships.
All of these aspects work in conjunction to create effective films within the crime genre, each representing its society and cultural nature, Britain and Australia. It is important, also, it acknowledge that the way these aspects work can be analysed within the discourse of film semantics and syntactic, where each of these characteristics of the genre, work independently to create the film, but when put together, they form a narrative, and function cohesively to portray not only the differences, but also the similarities between Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Two Hands.
[1] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[2] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[3] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[4] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[5] Elley, Derek, “Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels” in Variety Review Database, New York, Aug 1998
The influence of a director in the creation of a film is paramount, and one must always consider what possible personal connotations they can bring to the experience. Even though Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was Guy Ritchie’s first feature film, with the value of hindsight, it is relatively impossible to argue against the fact that he is thoroughly a British director, and that this is evident in any films he has made. He has such a fascinatingly individual filmic style, fusing together violence and black comedy with witty dialogue and typical British values. He is held in high regard within the film industry and is seen as representative of British filmmaking, which often draws comparisons to other cultures. “Though he disclaims the comparison, Ritchie has been hailed as a British Tarantino because, like the American, he uses violence for comic shock and his dialogue bops and zings”[1]. This compares to that of Gregor Jordan, who does not quite have the same baggage surrounding his work and career, but tends to be patriotically Australian. Having directed Two Hands, Jordan also later went on to direct Ned Kelly (2003), also starring Heath Ledger, and also working within very fabric of Australian society, and community (albeit, in different contexts).
Characterisation is an essential cinematic tool, regardless of film genre or cultural context, and both these films have an abundance of it, successfully portraying the typical characteristics of their respective contexts. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels follows “four young lowlifes in the East End, desperate to pay off a gambling debt, snatch a pile of loot from dope dealers who are backed by Caribbean gangsters. This sets off a chain reaction of double dealings which pits all the gangs in the neighbourhood against one another. This really is a black comedy about a feeding frenzy: The gangsters are sharks maddened by the scent of blood, and we get to watch them feast in a very small tank”[2]. And Ritchie works with different aspects of characterisation to affect the audience and aid the storyline and visual narrative. “Here, baldness and fat and scragliness and squinty eyes become manifestations of malice. If all the killings in the final reels are bearable, it’s because we feel that a race of monsters is destroying itself so that humans (the four young hoods) may survive”[3]. Similarly to Ritchie, Jordan also employs the use of a large cast, including a large immediate circle of virtual main characters. The language and dialect in both films is also a tell tale sign to indicate the cultural context. One aspect of the dialogue consistent in both films is the swearing, the obscene language is successful utilised though, mainly because as crime films, they help to create particular, tough, and rough images of the criminals and those involved in the underground. In Two Hands, obviously the audience is listening to some typical Australian accents, helping Australian audiences relate to the characters, although some responders from elsewhere may find some parts hard to understand. This is also the case in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, where Ritchie uses it as a cinematic tool and it works in conjunction with the other aspects of his filmmaking such as characterisation, violence and to fulfil comedic purposes. “The comedy is abetted by writer-director Guy Ritchie’s dialogue, which has a cockney pungency and wit”[4]. But also in the way that the“cockney dialogue presents no major problems for North Americans, though it requires some attentiveness. (One scene, in Cockney rhyming slang, is subtitled for comic effect)[5]”. And the last indicator of characterization and cultural context is in visual terms; making use of specific costuming and location shooting that is relevant to each country and society. In Two Hands, we see what has developed into quite the phenomenon itself, the Australian criminal in his shorts and thongs. This is so perfectly played by Bryan Brown as Pando, the gang leader and all around badass, but still has that Australian laid back, causal nature to him. Also the props utilized by the characters and used within the film also indicate the social context (such as the Parramatta Eels stubbie holders, and the Holden cars parked out the front of the houses). These aspects are mirrored in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, where the characters are dressed in typical British attire, dressing appropriately for the weather, and working with props used to everyday British life, contributing to the realistic feel Ritchie successfully creates. One of the most prominent aspects of creating this is also the locations within the film, the settings in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, are typically British, filmed in real locations and used to portray the British underground. Also within Jordan’s film, we see typical Australian suburban life, with appearances of Bondi Beach and the surrounding aspects of the community, as well as the integral use of Kings Cross as a location for gang voilence, drug deals and breeding ground for volitile relationships.
All of these aspects work in conjunction to create effective films within the crime genre, each representing its society and cultural nature, Britain and Australia. It is important, also, it acknowledge that the way these aspects work can be analysed within the discourse of film semantics and syntactic, where each of these characteristics of the genre, work independently to create the film, but when put together, they form a narrative, and function cohesively to portray not only the differences, but also the similarities between Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Two Hands.
[1] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[2] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[3] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[4] Alleva, Richard, “Comic Nihilism” in Commonweal, May 21, 1999, 126, 10, ProQuest Religion, pg 16
[5] Elley, Derek, “Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels” in Variety Review Database, New York, Aug 1998
|
|