Dom Hemingway

Cast & Crew

Jude Law

Dom Hemingway

Richard E. Grant

Dickie

Demián Bichir

Mr. Fontaine

Emilia Clarke

Evelyn

Kerry Condon

Melody

Jumayn Hunter

Lestor

Madalina Diana Ghenea

Paolina

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Hugh

Richard Shepard

Director

Richard Shepard

Screenwriter

Jeremy Thomas

Producer

Giles Nuttgens

Cinematographer

Dana Congdon

Film Editing

Rolfe Kent

Original Music

Laurence Dorman

Production Design

Bill Crutcher

Supervising Art Direction

Jonathan Houlding

Art Director

Ute Bergk

Set Decoration

Julian Day

Costume Design

Nina Gold

Casting

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Critic Reviews for Dom Hemingway

Audience Reviews for Dom Hemingway

• Jan 01, 2015

  Dom is remarkably comparable to Don from Sexy Beast.

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  Super Reviewer
• Nov 27, 2014

  Undeservingly lost in the shuffle, Dome Hemingway is a brash and wildly entertaining dark crime comedy. Jude Law is a sheer force of nature as the title character, a charismatic and garrulous criminal with no shortness of ego or volume. He's just getting out of a 12-year jail sentence and taking stock of his life. His wife is dead, his grown-up daughter (Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke) hates him for his absence, and his bosses are ready to reward him for his long silence. The only person who could screw things is up is Dom, and he does, as he's prone to impulsive fits, shouting matches, and oversized bravado. This is really a series of comic vignettes and vulgar monologues, but the writing by Richard Shepard (The Matador) is slyly hilarious, leaving me in stitches throughout ("I am not burying your body today! I didn't bring the right shoes for it."). The comic voice here is assured and finely attuned to the broad wavelengths the characters. It's not exactly he colorful, cartoon criminal universe of early Guy Ritchie films, but there's a definitely heightened atmosphere here that blends well with the manic nature of Dom. Law is bouncing off the walls; you may have to wash the spittle off your TV. But he's compelling from his first minute onscreen to his last. The third act squeezes in a degree of emotions though by then we've been enjoying the depravity too much to switch focus. I don't think the work has been put in to make Dom a three-dimensional character, but that won't stop Dom's film from being a blast of entertainment with swagger to spare. Nate's Grade: A-

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  nathan z Super Reviewer
• Aug 22, 2014

  If the filmmakers had stuck with the crazed energy (best displayed in the hilarious opening monologue) instead of awkwardly mashing it together with your standard redemption arch, the film might have been great. Still, its amusing enough and Jude Law's performance, which I could only described as "scenery devouring", is one you won't soon forget.

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  Super Reviewer
• Jul 31, 2014

  A name doesn't get too much more British gangster than Dom, but Hemingway, well, I don't know where that's coming from. Don't go thinking that this is "Do[u]n[/u] Hemingway", because this is hardly about Ernest Hemingway's days as a mafia head, although it may be, because it has nothing to do with good ol' Ernie. It is about a seriously hardcore criminal who keeps getting in trouble, no matter how much they stick him in prison, so I was thinking that this was kind of like Bronson, in that it was about an impossibly British criminal using an American icon's name for an alias. Shoot, this Hemingway is an aggressive drunkard out to get his, and not caring what anyone else thinks, so maybe this really is about Ernest, although I would be that angry if I went from looking like Jude Law to looking like this. Mind you, Law is only about as rough-looking as they could make him, but I really wouldn't want to mess with him when he's like that, and I wouldn't mess with him when he's pretty, because he does have that sort of silent intensity that I'm sure would lead to a whooping. Here, the only big difference is that he's anything but quiet, because, wow, this film can get a little obnoxious at times. Well, it's still a good performance by Law, but the film itself, I don't know, it's not quite what I was hoping for out of this film, for reasons extending beyond the fact that I was kind of expecting Ernest Hemingway in the mafia. While not quite as predictable as I feared, this film is pretty formulaic as a black-crime comedy about an ex-con seeking resolution for what he feels is due to him as a criminal, and it is made all the more conventional by boasting a very British style of storytelling, complete with overstylization. A somewhat toned down, yet nonetheless notable continuation of the Danny Boyle-inspired movement of hyper-stylization in British cinema, this film has a tendency to get a little carried away with its flashy editing and frantic pacing, which bloat style, often at the expense of substance which is lacking enough in concept. This is ultimately a rather inconsequential story concept that is entertaining, but not exactly rich, being light in magnitude, no matter how much it can get carried away as rather improbable. Of course, the grimy characterization gets carried away as much as anything in this black comedy, because even though the characters are memorably colorful and charismatically portrayed, it's hard to get invested in them, as they're all such dirtbags, including, if not especially the titular lead (He reportedly killed a cat, so he loses a ton of points from me for that). At the very least, the likability of the characters and, for that matter, the entertainment value of the film are shaken by sheer obnoxiousness, deriving from the humor's often being characterized by a noisy onslaught of obscenities which dilute the tastefulness of a wit whose constant frantic snap also wears you down, to the point of feel low-brow. More often than not, the film is a lot of fun with its fusion of wit and grime as a comedy, but all too often, it's kind of annoying, distancing you from a formulaic narrative with problematic characters and a questionable degree of weight. The film is almost forgettable, but even though it's rather underwhelming, for what it is, it sticks with you through all of its effective tastes, even in music. The film isn't especially musical, but when music does come into play, it doesn't do much with Rolfe Kent's decent score, being primarily celebratory of an outstanding unoriginal soundtrack which features anything from good, old-fashioned, no-nonsense British rock, to the occasional nifty classical piece, and does a lot to liven up the aesthetic value of this film, further complimented by consistently handsome and sometimes surprisingly gorgeous cinematography by Giles Nuttgens. Visual style stands solid in this film, but the stylistic sharpness within the directorial efforts of Richard Shepard do not end there, for although the film is very often overstylized with its frantic flashiness, when Shepard's orchestration of the sound mixing, scene structuring and editing - supervised by Dana Congdon - snaps, the film crackles. Again, Shepard will reach obnoxious extremes, but he never ever hits bland lows, keeping entertainment value consistent, very often to the point of making sure that the film is a whole lot of fun, largely thanks to his stylish direction, and just as largely thanks to his snappy writing. Shepard's script succumbs to a number of conventions when it comes to modern British comedy, and among those tropes is a messiness to the juggling of exhausting wit and obnoxious, often simply uncalled-for low-brow touches, but when realization to Shepard's colorful writing is found, man, it's just about sparkling, with memorable characterization and heights in humor which range from charming to all-out hilarious. Intensely snappy and audacious, this film challenges your patience and tolerance, and if you're able to take it for what it is, while you should hardly expect anything outstanding, you're sure to enjoy yourself, as it is so much fun and so charm in so many ways, yet wouldn't be that to this extent if it wasn't for such a fittingly charming cast. As expected, if nothing else stands out in this film, it's a cast full of memorably charismatic performances of which, the most memorable of which being by Jumayn Hunter, Demián Bichir, Richard E. Grant and, of course, leading man Jude Law, who is so deeply transformative in his sparklingly charismatic and, in some ways, nuanced portrayal of a brutal and self-indulgent criminal who is hardly predictable - particularly when he finds a heart - that he proves to be rather outstanding, molding a lead who endears through all of his flaws as memorable and sometimes even sympathetic. Law is a little bit held back by his being handed little actual dramatic material, but he does firmly remind us of his under-explored talents and carries this film a long way, maybe not to where the final product can transcend its shortcomings and even border on rewarding, but certainly to where the patient are sure to be thoroughly entertained. Bottom line, the film falls into formula and overstylization almost as obnoxious as unlikable character aspects and an exhaustingly frantic, often low-brow sense of humor, all behind a story of little depth to begin with, thus, this effort cannot transcend underwhelmingness, but on the backs of an excellent soundtrack, lovely cinematography, entertainingly stylish direction, colorful and often riotous writing, and across-the-board glowingly charming performances, - the most endearing of which being by Jude Law - "Dom Hemingway" stands as an inconsequential, but fun black comedy. 2.5/5 - Fair

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  cameron j Super Reviewer