“Snatch” Crackles with Cinematic Style

Snatchamp8217s story is a simple one Infamous thief Vic Hill Dougray Scott has been doing a bid in Her Majestyamp8217s prison for the past 15 years while his son Albert does his best to step out from his fatheramp8217s shadow and make a name for himself in the criminal underworld After some lowrent moves and a botched fightbetting scam Albert and his buddies Billy and Charlie pull off a surprisingly successful heist that even though it lands them a truckload of gold bullion ends up being more trouble than itamp8217s worth What follows is a show that feels like a 10episode heist movie and the end result is a pretty fun ride Last month Crackle released all ten episodes at once allowing for an irresistible binge It39s already a hit Crackle announced at its recent Upfront event that Snatch was renewed for a second seasonThe beauty of this series is its ability to not take itself too seriously Yes the action is good the danger is present enough to make things exciting and the main characters are cool enough to keep things interesting but every once in a while a clichamp233d plot point or character pops up reminding the viewer of the showamp8217s popcornentertainment nature Snatch does itself a favor by doubling down on the occasional campiness of it all and in an almost selfaware way leaning into itsamp160own outlandishness rather than attempting to be something itamp8217s notCreator Alex De Rakoff whoamp8217s most recent credit is the story and direction of EA video game Need for Speed The Run has always had a style that agrees with Snatchamp8217s overall tone and aesthetic He also directed the story of and short film for the classic 1999 video game Grand Theft Auto 2 Older fans of the popular title will remember how the aforementioned short that preceded the game on startup set the tone for the entire massive series that would follow especially since it was the first in its series to use amp8220liveamp8221 actors for the intro video A noteworthy element of that production was the fact that there was no dialogue whatsoever or even subtitles yet the fastpaced minimovie still managed to convey a legitimate discernable story about a wheelman and the seedy figures of the criminal underworld for which he was employed That smash cut actionfilled short has a visual style thatamp8217s extremely reminiscent of both the current Snatch and the movie and is a clear indicator that De Rakoffamp8217s place at this productionamp8217s helm was kismetAs comedic and cool as Crackleamp8217s crack at this series is it is in fact littered with moments of real genius as far as presentation goes The effects and editing teams pull off a few rather impressive scene transitions and image overlays amp8211 itamp8217s obvious that quick zooms musicsynced cuts and wellplanned camera work are the name of the game here Thereamp8217s a scene where Albertamp8217s mother Lily Hill Juliet Aubrey is on the phone with her husband Vic while heamp8217s incarcerated Theyamp8217re both sitting at a table in their respective locations but both shots were combined in editing to appear as though they were sitting at the same table in the same room Itamp8217s a subtle yet clever move that illustrates the function of their relationship despite the actual distance between themThis isnamp8217t another injusticedriven drama filled to the brim with social commentary This is fun Itamp8217s a Guy Ritchiestyle crime flick split into 10 episodes and punctuated by just the right amount of emotional gravity and occasionally campy performances For example Rupert Grintamp8217s Charlie is an excellent and regular source of both comedic relief and plotthickening frustration On the contrary Sonny Castillo played by Chuck Bass himself Ed Westwick pictured above is an Englishman with a trivial amount of Cuban blood in his veins who constantly sounds like heamp8217s doing the shittiest Scarface impression ever Heamp8217s definitely a heel but heamp8217s never more than an overblown play on an archetype thatamp8217s truly only good for a laugh He specifically is a perfect example of an element too ridiculous to be taken seriously and Westwickamp8217s dedication to the characteramp8217s muddy accent and overall absurdity are a testament to thatPerformancewise just about everyone does their part In traditional heistfilm fashion itamp8217s the ensemble that carries this show and watching them morph from a bunch of individuals into teammates turns out to be a real pleasure Obviously theyamp8217re all criminals but itamp8217s still very easy to root for the bad guys mostly because they donamp8217t seem all that badLawbreaking aside their motivations are all pretty relatable Almost every single character the viewer is supposed to like has been dealt a shitty card in life despite their best efforts to make something of themselves They want the same thing that everyone with even a little ambition wants something moreamp160And by God they are going to get it even if they have to snatch itPhotos courtesy of Crackle Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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“Snatch” Crackles with Cinematic Style

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Ainsley Andrade

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“Snatch” Crackles with Cinematic Style

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