Starring Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Alan Ford, Mike Reid, Rade Sherbedgia, Vinnie Jones. Written and Directed by Guy Ritchie. Four orthodox Jewish businessmen walk into a British diamond dealer, but they aren't really Jewish businessmen. They are Frankie Four Fingers (Del Toro) and his gang and they grab some diamonds including a huge 86 carat monster. Frankie phones up Cousin Avi (Farina) in New York and a very pleased Avi arranges for Frankie to meet with the fence, Doug The Head (Reid). But Frankie never makes it - instead he is convinced by ex-KGB Russian Boris the Blade (Sherbedgia) into placing a bet for him, as a means of getting his hands on the diamond. Avi is plenty pissed when he hears Frankie is AWOL, and jets over from New York to find him. Turkish and Tommy are backroom illegal fight promoters. They have just arranged to stage a fight with mobster Brick Top (Ford) where their fighter is supposed to take a dive in the 4th round. But on a mission to buy a trailer from the "piker" Gypsies on the edge of town their fighter is knocked unconscious by a tough, wiry Mickey O'Neill (Pitt). In desperation, Turkish hires Mickey to box and take the dive. But Mickey doesn't understand the concept of taking a dive and lands Turkish in hot water with Brick Top who loses a lot of money on the fight, and who makes a habit of getting rid of people who offend him by feeding them to pigs. Avi and a British thug who specializes in finding people named Bullett Tooth Tony (Jones) run around town looking for the diamond which keeps changing hands faster than a politician passes the buck. Eventually the stories converge to an unexpected (sort of) conclusion. Reminiscent of Pulp Fiction, the story involves over a dozen characters, all of whom are somehow connected to the diamond in some way, and whose lives interact along the way. And like Pulp Fiction, the characters are not-always-bright gansters and low-lifes who often engage in interesting banter, but aren't smart enough to keep themselves out of trouble. The film is often hilarious, often bloody and violent (although most of the violence is implied) and the pace fast. But the plot and action is sometimes too frenetic, and too convoluted. The diamond isn't that important, and many of the plotlines which revolve around it are the least interesting. The stories that revolve around Mickey are generally the best, and those involving Avi come a close second. A side-story involving a trio of hapless thieves slows things down and unnecessarily complicates the plot, and could have been edited out. The best part of the movie is Brad Pitt. He is completely authentic as the barely comprehensible, rough-edged Gypsy fighter, with more brains than he appears to have. Farina, like he was in Get Shorty, is perfect as the fast-talking, conscienceless American mobster. The rest of the cast is solid as well. If you're squeamish with considerable profanity, occasional violence and generally reprehensible characters, you'd better take a pass, but if you like an action-packed crime flick with colourful characters, you'll likely enjoy the ride. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page