The Gentlemen is a stylish, if occasionally hollow, caper worth your time
The Gentlemen has a ton of energy and benefits from having a ridiculous premise: a country-estate-turned-drug-ring. The series may lack the plotting of a prestige drama, but it’s a pretty entertaining pick for those who like British crime flicks with elements of eccentricity.
Aristocracy meets the underworld
The show sets itself apart using the opposites of Theo James’s Eddie Horniman and his family’s ancestral home’s hidden criminal empire. Eddie’s family home in the British countryside is where Eddie is seen polishing the family silverware in the morning while navigating orders from the weed-dealing syndicate later in the day. This generates dark humor that fits perfectly with the creator’s signature style.
The show’s supporting cast is excellent, but in particular, the irritating Freddy Horniman. He brings a chaotic energy that makes you personally care about the show, even when you can tell some plot parts are beginning to unravel.
Style over narrative substance
Where the series starts to falter unfortunately is in the plot. The convoluted nature of some of the twists largely do not pay off. While there will certainly be viewers that aren’t impressed with how the mysteries are answered, the rest of the episodes do a great job catching the audience’s attention with every episode largely leading into the next.
Instead of being unoriginal and another trope of tv shows, this show is able to distance itself and stand out by choosing to be more episodic and carefree in their chapters. It is able to avoid being shallow in its characters because it doesn’t set out to be too deep.
Who should commit to the estate
The fast dialogue, absurd humor, and snappy wardrobe draw you in and make this a strong pick for your weekend queue. Things tend to get a little convenient and the plot is sometimes flimsy, but the wacky British wit helps when you’re trying to look the other way. This series doesn’t take itself too seriously, but if you’re into grim, real world crime shows probably best avoid this for your next view. No serious person will be satisfied by the utter lack of logic and emotion in this iteration of the criminal underworld.
