Dom Hemingway 2013
This was not a movie I had ever heard about until it showed up in a Dollar Tree sale with some people online saying it was good and getting a not so terrible 55 on Metacritic (a lot of the other Dollar Tree movies were much worse). So for a dollar I went ahead and got it and finally got around to watching it. The cast is actually pretty good, mostly with Jude Law in the title role, the always odd Richard Grant, and an early role for Emilia Clarke. A “dark comedy,” this movie is mostly dramatic and violent with an occasional funny spin on things. Dom Hemingway is a man just out of prison who has very little self-control, and really needs it. It takes a while to get going, mostly just showing us this nut saying and doing a bunch of crazy stuff. Eventually it gets a plot and a human story, but barely. Jude Law took a lot of chances with this role and throws himself into it, but it sometimes just feels like big acting, including the opening monologue where he praises his privates. Released by Fox Searchlight, it feels like an indy character study, but it is all a little too crazy and maybe trying a little too hard even while it isn’t delivering that much. Still, it isn’t terrible and I can see how some would really like it and even find much of it hilarious, though I didn’t.
Written: 24 Jun 2018
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital