Will Plunkett (Carlyle) is a common thief who teams up with aristocrat James Macleane to rob from the rich, using their combined social connections and criminal knowhow to become "The Gentlemen Highwaymen". But when Macleane falls in love with the daughter of one of their wealthy victims, things get complicated. A stylish, fast-paced, techno-scored adventure. Director Scott is the son of BLADE RUNNER director Ridley Scott.
(11 votes)
2.
No-one will be neutral about Plunkett and Macleane. Either you go with its notion of cheeky, stylish fun or you want to grab first-time director Jake Scott by the ear and slap him silly. Your inclination may depend on whether you recall his dad Ridley's own directing debut, The Duellists (1977), and savour the correspondences. Dad took a Joseph Conrad tale of the Napoleonic Wars, cast it with the ultra-contemporary Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, and filmed it with a swooping, mobile camera. Son Jake has made a feisty period piece about a pair of thieves (Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller) in 1748 London and filled it with blatant anachronisms. A decadent aristo (Alan Cumming), asked whether he "still swings both ways," replies, "I swing every way!" A ballroom full of revellers dances the minuet (or is it the gavotte?) while our ears--if not theirs--are filled with a trance ballad. And so forth.
Is this sophomoric? Maybe. But it's also often fresh and inventive. Why shouldn't a filmmaker be allowed to speak directly to a contemporary consciousness, even flaunt it, as long as he also delivers startling imagery and convincing period detail? The solid cast includes Michael Gambon as a corrupt magistrate, Ken Stott as a very nasty enforcer named Mr Chance (who favours a thumb through the eye socket and into the brain as a mode of execution) and Terence Rigby as a philosophical jailer. Even Liv Tyler looks more interesting than usual. In the end pretty frivolous, Plunkett and Macleane is nonetheless a lively debut. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
(8 votes)
3.
They rob from the rich…and just keep it.
Long before Butch and Sundance or Bonnie and Clyde, there was Will Plunkett and James Macleane -- a pair of notorious and irreverent highwayman who terrorized English aristocracy in the mid 1700's. Reuniting the stars of the hit movie Trainspotting, Plunkett (Robert Carlyle) and Macleane (Johnny Lee Miller) combine forces to steal from the rich using Plunkett's street sense and Macleane's society connections. But their partnership as highwaymen hits a bump in the road when Macleane falls in love with one of their victims -- a beautiful and rebellious young aristocrat named Rebecca (Liv Tyler). With the law closing in, Plunkett and Macleane find they must choose between robbery and romance.
(8 votes)
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