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The Gentlemen is a 2019 action comedy film written, directed and produced by Guy Ritchie, who developed the story along with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant. It follows an American cannabis wholesaler in England who is looking to sell his business, setting off a chain of blackmail and schemes to undermine him. The Gentlemen premiered at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema on December 3, 2019, and was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2020, by Entertainment Film Distributors, and in the United States on January 24, 2020, by STXfilms. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was also a commercial success, grossing $115 million worldwide against its $22 million budget. A spin-off television series was released by Netflix in 2024 with Theo James starring in the lead role. Plot Big Dave, editor of the Daily Print tabloid, is snubbed by cannabis baron Mickey Pearson at a party and hires private detective Fletcher to investigate Pearson's links to Lord Pressfield. Pressfield, a duke, has a heroin-addicted daughter named Laura. Fletcher offers to sell his findings (typed up as a screenplay entitled Bush) to Pearson's right-hand man, Raymond, for £20 million. Born into poverty in the U.S., Pearson won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, where he began selling marijuana before dropping out and building his criminal empire. He now plans to sell his business to American billionaire Matthew Berger for £400m and retire peacefully with his wife, Rosalind. Pearson shows Berger one of the labs where he grows cannabis under the estates of aristocratic landlords who need cash for the upkeep of their stately homes. Pearson is later approached by Dry Eye, an underboss for Chinese gangster Lord George. Dry Eye offers to buy out Pearson's business, but he refuses. Pearson's lab is raided by amateur MMA fighters and aspiring YouTubers "The Toddlers" who overpower the guards, steal marijuana and upload a rap video of their caper online. The fighters' horrified trainer, "Coach", orders them to delete the video. Following the raid, Pearson begins transferring his cannabis plants out of the estates as a precaution. At the request of Pressfield, he also agrees to bring Laura home. Raymond retrieves her from a council estate where she lives with other addicts. In a brawl with her flatmates, one of Raymond's men accidentally kills Aslan, a young Russian. Laura is returned to her parents and then dies of an overdose. Coach visits Raymond, apologises for his students' actions, and offers his services as penance. Coach has captured Phuc, a henchman of Dry Eye's who had informed The Toddlers about the lab location. While attempting to escape, Phuc gets fatally run over by a train. Pearson threatens Lord George for going after his lab and destroys one of his heroin labs in retaliation. George chastises Dry Eye for his insubordination in attacking Pearson and offering to buy him out; George is then executed by one of his own men. Dry Eye is actually in league with Berger, who had wanted Pearson's business disrupted to reduce the price. Dry Eye has taken Lord George's place and still hopes to take Pearson's empire for himself. Dry Eye tries to kidnap Rosalind, who kills his men before running out of bullets. Raymond kills an assassin sent to kill Pearson; the two rush to Rosalind and Pearson kills Dry Eye as he is about to rape her. Fletcher ends his story and Raymond orders him to leave his house. Fletcher has merely confirmed Pearson's suspicions about the link between Dry Eye and Berger. Raymond orders The Toddlers to capture Big Dave. They drug him and film him having sex with a pig, threatening to post it online unless he drops his investigation and publishes nothing. Pearson and Berger meet up again in a frozen fish plant, actually a cover for Pearson's European distribution operation. Berger drops his offer to £130 million, on account of the recent disruptions, but Pearson reveals his knowledge of Berger's plan, shows him Dry Eye's frozen body and tells him he is keeping his business. Pearson forces Berger inside a refrigerator, where he will freeze to death unless he transfers £270 million compensation for the blood he now has on his hands and the cost of restoring order. Pearson admits he is not "emotional about the money" but because Rosalind was assaulted, he demands "a pound of flesh" from Berger's own body, anywhere Berger chooses, as compensation for this indiscretion. Fletcher approaches Raymond again for his payment, but Raymond reveals he was tailing Fletcher all along. The Toddlers have stolen his stashes of evidence after Raymond placed a tracker on him during their last encounter. Fletcher reveals he has also sold info to Aslan's father, a Russian oligarch and former KGB agent. The assassin whom Raymond killed earlier was one of the Russians. Coach kills two Russian hitmen sent to kill Raymond, while Fletcher escapes in the chaos. Pearson is kidnapped by two other Russians, but they are ambushed by The Toddlers who want to "solve Coach's problem". They riddle the car with bullets, killing the Russians and allowing Pearson to escape. Later, Fletcher decides to pitch the story as a film to Miramax. After his meeting, he gets into a cab only to realize that Raymond is the driver. Upon learning of Fletcher's capture, Pearson and Rosalind return to their cannabis empire and celebrate together. Cast Production Development and casting It was announced in May 2018 that Guy Ritchie would write and direct The Gentlemen, a film that would be in the same spirit as his earlier Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The project was unveiled at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival by CAA Media Finance and Rocket Science where Miramax acquired the distribution rights. Filming was expected to begin in October. In October, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Beckinsale, Henry Golding and Hugh Grant were cast, with Jeremy Strong, Jason Wong and Colin Farrell joining in November. Later, Michelle Dockery signed on, replacing Beckinsale in her role. In December 2018, Lyne Renée was added as well. Filming Principal photography began in November 2018. Filming locations included West London Film Studios, Longcross Studios, The Princess Victoria pub in Shepherd's Bush and Brompton Cemetery. Release In February 2019, STX Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film from Miramax for $7 million. The film had its world premiere as a VIP special screening at Curzon Mayfair on December 3, 2019. It was theatrically released in the UK on January 1, 2020, and in the US on January 24, 2020. The studio spent around $25 million on promoting the film. Home media The Gentlemen was released on home media and video on demand on March 24, 2020. It was previously set for a home media release on April 7, but was moved up due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I.... Discover the Peter Guy George popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Peter Guy George books.