A movie by Guy Ritchie, "Snatch," a rollicking exercise in twisted darkness, is a rare film that generates disgust-induced satire with some degree of frequency and yet never stoops to a juvenile level. In this crime-dominated film, the laughs find their roots in a hearty mix of relatively innocent issues such as gambling addictions, thick accents and trans-Atlantic travel, as well as less innocent yet equally humorous scenarios, like unlicensed boxing matches where the fix is in, a killer who uses pigs to dispose of his bodies and a group of less-than-honest gypsies.
A somewhat more strenuous mission, however, is figuring out the plot of "Snatch". The movie follows a crime ring, diamond heist and boxing scam that all collide early and often. It all starts when Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) is laid over in London on his way back to the States to deliver his boss, Avi (Dennis Farina), a giant diamond. In the meantime, his gambling addiction takes a toll, and when asked to put a bet on one of the previous unlicensed bare-knuckle bouts that would give even Don King the willies, he gives in to temptation.
The wager, of course, is set up and Franky Four Fingers has a dilemma on his hands soon enough. Enter Mickey O'Neil, an Irish gypsy with exceptional charm and a thick, nonsensical accent that is compounded for the audience by his fluency in Cockney Rhyming Slang, who gives one of his best and most enjoyable performances in his return to a fighting role after the massively successful 'Fight Club'. Mickey will stand in for him after knocking out the boxer who was set to go down in the fight. The problem is that Mickey isn't too good at taking orders.
With his strong accent, scraggly facial hair and fake excitement for the "mess" he gets himself into, Pitt steals the show. Benicio Del Toro also finds himself strong in another gangster performance. The rest of the cast is delighted to watch in their curiously scary roles, including Vinnie Jones as Bullet Tooth Tony and Alan Ford as Brick Top.
In several parts of the film, Ritchie, together with the director of photography Tim Maurice-Jones and editor Jon Harris, creates a curiously specific visual effect. The trio understands the possibility of visuals even in a film designed to look grungy and ultimately realize the potential here, whether it be snappy editing of isolated colors in the opening montage of the film or just generally deft coverage of the movie's bouts.
Be warned that at times, Snatch can be very offensive. There are crass jokes scattered all over. Nonetheless, Snatch remains one of the finest movies to be released in the 2000s.
