No Hit, Sherlock
In last year’s terrific—but overlooked—RocknRolla, Guy Ritchie leapt past Quentin Tarantino’s fanboy cruelty and made the movie he’d long aimed at: A satire of machismo that penetrated the studly poses and vengeful attitudes to reveal the familial and social sources that link crime, business and art in our culture. Now, in his studio-financed blockbuster Sherlock Holmes, Ritchie squanders those lessons, falling back into Q.T. cuteness, reneging on every storytelling breakthrough that RocknRolla advanced. Read more
READY TO ROLL
Guy Ritchie didn’t make the mistake of putting his wife Madonna in RocknRolla; but his latest gangster film queers a sense of Macho to match Madonna’s sense of Slut. Hopefully, Ritchie’s fantasy won’t roll back human progress; but this time it’s shaped an unexpectedly enjoyable movie.
RocknRolla joins badass folderol to bad-boy (adolescent) distress. Ritchie’s love of swagger is embodied by flamboyant cartoons that all harbor a personal social resentment-usually from way back in childhood or class disadvantage. Read more
