Gringo

One of my favourite things about the 80's and 90's was the popularity of the comedy thriller. That blend of violence, profanity, tension and laughs that always seemed to work so well. Midnight Run, Grosse Point Blank, 48 hrs, Red Heat, Go etc. The sort of film you knew would easily entertain you. If you enjoyed those then Gringo is for you.

Harold Soyinka is a Nigerian man working in Chicago. He's stressed out. His wife is spending to much money on her business and his own business is worrying him too. On a trip to Mexico with his two bosses, Elaine and Richard, Harold overhears something that confirms his worst fears and decides to do something really really silly to get himself out of a hole.

A few issues aside I thoroughly enjoyed this. David Oyelowo plays Harold and is a joy. I've never seen the funny side of him before but one high pitched yelp of outrage sold me on him straight away. He plays the stressed out bloke we all know to a tee. The weight of the world is on his shoulders and when he finally decides he can't take it anymore the fun begins. It's not a laugh out loud comedy but the jokes that hit, hit hard. Those looks of outrage that never get old, a faked phone call, a drug dealer with a strange and angry musical obsession and basically every p.c. obliterating utterance out of Elaine's (Charlize Theron) mouth. There's a lot of fun to be garnered from the back and forth of the film too as characters keep making stupid rash decisions and telling lies that dig them deeper and deeper into holes. It's a never ending circle of backstabbing, double crossing, secrets, mistaken identities glued together by nasty selfish people and some surprisingly bloody violence.

There's a lot going on in this, so much that it never gets boring but at the same time so much that it does get confusing at times and with so many characters onscreen it's no surprise that some of them get short shrift. One plot line about a couple played by Amanda Seyfried and Harry Treadaway works hard to blend into the main story but eventually becomes pointless and the less said about the character played by Thandie Newton the better. The good outweighs the bad though and by the time the action hits a fever pitch near the end you'll have forgotten about any of the earlier confusion.

Director Nash Edgerton does a good job in portraying the sweaty edginess south of the border and gathers together a nice cast to do so. Oyelowo and Theron are great fun, one utterly sympathetic and one a raging bastard who despite initial reservations you'll end up (sort of) admiring. Joel Edgerton as Richard is a great prick. The kind of bro who you'd cross the road to avoid and who'd stab you in the back while patting you on the shoulder. Sharlto Copley as a mercenary dropped into the mix brings his trademark quirkiness too but manages to get one quietly surprising and touching scene that gives us a nice little moment of respite from the craziness.

This is well worth a watch. Go see it quick because it won't be around long. It seems to have been dumped in the post award season with little to no advertisement. Usually that's a sign that a film studio has no faith in the film but I'm at a loss to see why. It's great fun and far more entertaining than a lot of the so called prestige films released so far this year. Between this and the recent Game Night we are seeing a mini resurgence in the comedy thriller genre and I've got to say I'm loving it.