Review: Dom Hemingway

Jude Law stars as the angry, reckless, and profane safecracker recently paroled from prison after 12 years behind bars. He and his long-time pal Dickie (Richard E. Grant) go to see Law’s old crime boss Fontaine (Demien Bichir, whose character has a fetish for what can only be described as monkey art), looking for the money he feels owed by the man he refused to rat out in the inside. Once there he also meets Bichir’s current squeeze Madalina Diana Ghenea, whom Grant immediately warns Dom not to shag or else it’ll be their heads. However, shagging his boss’ girlfriend is the least of his worries, when something goes wrong, and both Dom’s money and the girlfriend go missing. Dom is not fucking happy. Meanwhile, Dom is also trying to reconnect with the daughter (Emilia Clarke) he hasn’t been a real father to in over a decade. She’s not particularly happy to see the ne’er do well crim (Her mother died of cancer whilst Dom was incarcerated), and has a child of her own now. Kerry Condon turns up from time to time as a nice girl Dom meets at Bichir’s mansion. Jumayn Hunter has a small role as a disgruntled young underworld figure, who has a serious beef with Dom from before his prison stint.

 

It hasn’t gotten much love from anyone really, but this 2013 gangster pic with a sense of humour from writer-director Richard Shepard (an American who previously made “The Matador”, with Pierce Brosnan) actually isn’t bad at all. Jude Law’s lead performance is a bit overripe and probably not terribly convincing (his audacious opening monologue on the stupendousness of his ‘manhood’ is a little much to bear), but he certainly gives it everything he’s got in a highly profane, supremely angry, and very entertaining turn as a man with more bravado than brains. I would’ve preferred Ray Winstone in the part (Years ago it would’ve been a vehicle for Malcolm McDowell), but Law is certainly enjoyable, if just shy of being scary. This guy is so out of his mind and off-the-wall that during a profane rant, he ends up quoting James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain’. I have no idea why he does this, but it’s very funny. Dom is quite clearly his own worst enemy, as he proves time and time again here.

 

Even better than Law are a droll Richard E. Grant in a sort of deadpan Terence Stamp showing (and getting all the best lines), and Demien Bichir as the kind of powerful crim who doesn’t need to rant and rave or overtly threaten. He’s immediately intimidating, so it’s a shame he’s not around for all that much of the film. Emilia Clarke is interestingly used as Dom’s extremely estranged daughter, showing that for all his seething rage, lack of social graces, and obvious criminal misdeeds, he’s also a human being. A shit one, mind you, but a human being nonetheless. There’s also an amusing small turn by Jumayn Hunter as the son of Dom’s chief nemesis. This young thug does not like Dom. In the slightest. Apparently Dom killed his cat a while back and he’s still pissed.

 

I really don’t know what everyone’s problem is with this film. It’s not as pretentious as I’d heard (I don’t normally like films that mention the title in dialogue frequently, but I’ll excuse it here because it’s the bloke’s name), and certainly nowhere near as confusing, either. There’s a good pop/rock soundtrack, too. So why does it not get a higher rating from me? Well, in addition to not liking Kerry Condon’s brief supporting performance, I also think the film ends far too abruptly. You feel like there should’ve been more of the crime aspect of the film to deal with. It really does bring the film down just slightly. Such a shame, because otherwise it’s an entertaining film, if a tad too reliant on my least favourite swear word (one of the c-words). It’s not the most original plot in the world, but Law’s interesting and lively lead performance, plus a few top-notch supporting turns help make this watchable, if ultimately a tad underdone.

 

Rating: C+