Rock N Rolla

Movie
German title	Rock N Rolla
Original title	RocknRolla
Country of production	UK
original language	English , Russian
Publishing year	2008
length	approx. 110 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16 ; JMK 14
Rod
Director	Guy Ritchie
script	Guy Ritchie
production	Steve Clark-Hall , ; Susan Downey , ; Guy Ritchie, ; Joel Silver
music	Steve Isles
camera	David Higgs
cut	James Herbert
occupation
	Gerard Butler : One Two; Tom Wilkinson : Lenny Cole; Thandie Newton : Stella; Mark Strong : Archy; Idris Elba : Mumbles; Tom Hardy : Bob; Karel Roden : Uri Omovich; Toby Kebbell : Johnny Quid; Jeremy Piven : Novel; Ludacris : Mickey; Jimi Mistry : City Council; Matt King : Cookie; Dragan Micanovic : Victor; Michael Ryan : Pete; Nonso Anozie : tank; Gemma Arterton : June; Jamie Campbell Bower : Rocker; James Greene : Judge;

Rock N Rolla (Original title: RocknRolla ) is a British gangster comedy from 2008 . Directed by Guy Ritchie , who also wrote the script and co-produced the film.

action

The setting for "Rocknrolla" is today's London, whose underworld is firmly in the hands of Lenny Cole. Its power stems from its control over London's construction industry. Lenny's right hand is Archy, from whose point of view the film is told.

Lenny allies with the Russian billionaire Uri Omovich, whom he promises a building permit for seven million euros. As a thank you, Omovich lends Lenny his favorite painting, which has brought him luck with every coup so far.

Omovich hires his accountant Stella to arrange the payment of the seven million euros. This in turn lets One Two and Mumbles, two petty criminals who previously lost money in another coup and now owe Lenny two million pounds, know about the unsecured money transfer. One Two and Mumbles manage to steal the money and are able to pay their debts to Lenny.

At the same time, Lenny discovers that Omovich's lucky painting has been stolen from him. He also learns from the newspaper that his stepson Johnny Quid, a drug addict rock star, has died.

However, Johnny Quid only faked his death. He stays in a shabby apartment, consumes drugs all the time, and delves into the painting he stole from his stepfather.

When Omovich learns of the failed money transfer, he asks Lenny to return his lucky painting. He initially claims that Archy has lost the key to his safe in which the painting is located.

Omovich meets with Stella to ask her to pay out another seven million euros. At this meeting Omovich Stella wants to get closer, but she lets him brush-off and mentioned her husband, who works as a lawyer.

Once more, One Two and Mumbles learn from Stella that Omovich has arranged a money transfer. Although the money is to be brought by two of his best men this time, One Two and Mumbles, with the help of their friend Handsome Bob, manage to get the money into their possession after a speedy chase with the two Russian Omovichs.

When Lenny receives the information that Omovich's painting is in the possession of Johnny, who was believed to be dead, he turns to his manager Mickey and Roman, who he threatens to revoke their club licenses if they fail to find Johnny. Slowly, however, Lenny's throne begins to shake. It is increasingly difficult for him to control the construction industry through middlemen in important positions.

At another meeting between Lenny and Omovich, the two clash. Since Omovich has in the meantime managed to establish his own contacts with Lenny's middlemen, and he is no longer dependent on Lenny's help, he lets him beat up at a meeting on the golf course. Lenny ends up in a wheelchair.

One Two is surprised by Stella in his apartment. The two have sex after it had crackled between them for a long time. As a farewell, One Two gives Stella the lucky painting that was stolen from Johnny by two junkies who then sold it to a friend One Two, who gave it to One Two as a present for Stella.

Shortly after Stella has left One Two's apartment, the two Russians Omovichs ambush him. Tied to the bed, One Two is about to be tortured when Archy enters the apartment to pick up One Two on Lenny's behalf. Archy and his men kill the two Russians. They arrest One Two as well as the Mumbles and Handsome Bob who joined them, to be handed over to Lenny in an abandoned factory building. At the same time, Mickey and Roman arrive there with Johnny.

In the meantime, Omovich goes all out with Stella. He visits her in her apartment and proposes to her. Stella accepts Omovich's jewelry box with a request for a few days to think about it. When Omovich turns around, he discovers his lucky painting in Stella's apartment. Without further ado, he calls his right hand Viktor into the house on his cell phone. Viktor gets gloves from the chauffeur before entering the house. Stella's fate remains uncertain.

In the factory floor, Lenny and Archy, the tied One Two, Mumbles and Handsome Bob as well as Johnny and his managers face each other. Since Lenny can no longer bear his drug-pumped stepson, he orders one of his men to eliminate Johnny and his managers. While Johnny and his managers take the elevator down with Lenny's men, they overpower Lenny's men.

At the same time, Handsome Bob Archy reveals that he had received important information from Stella's husband, which is in an envelope in his jacket pocket. Archy begins reading the document aloud, which shows that Lenny has been a police informant under an alias for many years and is responsible for each of Archys, One Twos and the others 'several years' imprisonment. Archy has Lenny killed in the same way that Lenny had many others tortured and killed before: He is submerged in a pool of crabs.

The film closes with Archy picking up the regenerated Johnny from the clinic after rehab and giving him the picture, although it is not resolved where Archy got the picture from. In the future, Archy, Johnny and One Two and his men want to rule the underworld together.

Reviews

James Christopher wrote in The Times on September 2, 2008 that Rock N Rolla was a film that explored the crazy London underworld. He is typical for Guy Ritchie - this would include slow motion recordings of Thandie Newton in high heels and "a lot of noisy rock music ". The loosely interwoven storylines are linked at the end in a "desperate attempt to create an appropriately bloody finale". Ritchie steals from his idol Quentin Tarantino , whose imagination he lacks.

David Germain wrote in The Washington Times on September 5, 2008 that Ritchie was returning to the subgenre of gangster history such as Jack, Queen, King, Grass and Snatch - pigs and diamonds . He has that “manic energy” to which the audience of the director's earlier films succumbed.

The film magazine Cinema wrote in its conclusion: "The ultra-cool gangster satire and its terrific soundtrack are bursting with energy - one likes to overlook the few narrative weaknesses."

Bernhard Lichtenberger wrote in the OÖN of March 21, 2009: "Guy Ritchie lets it go haywire, with verve, dashing cuts, fine mimes, witty scenes, casual dialogues and high entertainment value."

Mark Kermode said in his blog for the BBC on 2 September 2009 that the film is not bad ( bad ), but terrible ( terrible was) and asked the question why it was Guy Ritchie still allowed to make films.

Soundtrack

The music for the film contains the following titles:

People Ask the Question (dialogue sequence)
I'm a Man from Black Strobe
Have Love, Will Travel from The Sonics
No School Like the Old School (dialogue sequence)
Bank robber from The Clash
The Trip by Kim Fowley
Slap Him! (Dialogue sequence)
Ruskies by Steve Isles
Outlaw from War
Waiting for a Train by Flash and the Pan
Junkies (dialogue sequence)
Rock & Roll Queen from The Subways
The Gun by Lou Reed
The Stomp by The Hives
We Had Love by The Scientists
Sausage & Beans (dialogue sequence)
Mirror in the Bathroom by The Beat
Funnel of Love by Wanda Jackson
Such a fool of 22-20s
Dopilsya from Gasa sector
Negra Leono by Miguelito Valdés

Remarks

The film was shot in London in June 2007 . Its production amounted to an estimated 18 million US dollars .
The world premiere took place on September 4, 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival . The film started in British cinemas on September 5, 2008 and was released there on February 2, 2009 on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. It was shown in selected cinemas in the USA on October 8, 2008, and on March 19 in Germany 2009 on.
The movie Tank watches when Archie gets into his car is What's Left of the Day .
The film has allusions to pulp fiction , One Two dances with Stella in a strange way that Vincent Vega dances with Mia Wallace. The painting serves a similar purpose as the suitcase in Pulp Fiction: Both objects play an important role in the plot, but the viewer is not informed about the content - a so-called MacGuffin .
The character of Uri Omovich is based on the Russian billionaire Roman Abramowitsch .
The very last scene of the film shows the text "One-Two and the Wild Bunch will be back in THE REAL ROCKNROLLA" ( One-Two and the Wild bunch will be back in THE REAL ROCKNROLLA ). Apart from the title, nothing is known about the sequel, as Guy Ritchie initially devoted himself to work on his Sherlock Holmes films ( Sherlock Holmes and the sequel Sherlock Holmes: Spiel im Schatten ).