Though the film takes a while to cast its spell, writer-director-cinematographer Bernard Rose's close observation of Marks and those around him becomes increasingly involving and allows Rose to comment on the widespread failure of the war on drugs.
Mr. Nice
43 Aliases. 89 Phone Lines. This is the Story of Howard Marks.
2010 · 2h 1m · N/A
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Directed by
Bernard Rose
Overview
Biopic about 1970s Welsh marijuana trafficker Howard Marks, whose inventive smuggling schemes made him a huge success in the drug trade, as well as leading to dealings with both the IRA and British Intelligence. Based on Marks' biography with the same title.
Director and cast
- Bernard Rose Director
- Rhys Ifans as Howard Marks
- Chloë Sevigny as Judy Marks
- David Thewlis as Jim McCann
- Elsa Pataky as Ilze
- Olivia Grant as Alice
- Luis Tosar as Craig Lovato
- Crispin Glover as Ernie Combs
- Omid Djalili as Saleem Malik
- Christian McKay as Hamilton McMillan
- Andrew Tiernan as Alan Marcuson
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The writer-director tells the story with verve and small-budget ingenuity.
Ifans looks 20 years too old for the part, and the problem with the movie is it seems so desperate to be made that it barely cares that he spends half of his time miscast.
[Ifans] captures the character's charisma and cool, and it's fun to ride shotgun with him. But the script isn't pointed enough to drill beneath the surface.
Effortlessly captures the looks, attitudes and the various mentalities of the period from the late 1960s and early 1970s, through the transition from the hippie era into the Studio 54 days, followed by the Just-Say-No retrenchment of the 1980s.
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