Review of Plunkett & Macleane (1999) by Ola G — 01 Oct 2016

In 1748, England is infested with highwaymen, such as Will Plunkett (Robert Carlyle), a London-based criminal working with a partner. However, very soon his partner Rob is killed by Thief Taker General Chance (Ken Stott), and Plunkett finds himself on the run from the local constabulary. This incident was witnessed by Captain James Macleane (Jonny Lee Miller), who was being taken to a debtor's prison. He also sees Plunkett's partner swallow a ruby, which he sees as his ticket out of debt, and, after narrowly escaping discovery by Chance, he goes to the cemetery and tries to exhume the body and retrieve the ruby. Unknown to him, Plunkett is also waiting there, and he forces Macleane to give the ruby to him. He then also swallows it, as they are both found by Chance's men. They go together to Newgate Prison, and Plunkett realises that, because of Macleane's social rank (he is a member of the gentry class), he can give the ruby to Macleane and he can use his influence to buy them both out of prison. This, despite protests from Macleane, starts a partnership which could be very successful, where they use Macleane's title to get to know the rich, and Plunkett's brains and planning to rob them later on. However, this all goes haywire when Macleane falls for the beautiful Lady Rebecca (Liv Tyler) and lets their secret slip...

The chemistry between Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller was of high standard already in "Trainspotting" 3 years prior to "Plunkett & McLeane" and I can see why they casted them both yet again against eachother. "Plunkett & McLeane" is a quite entertaining, fast-paced and modern take on the highwaymen genre. It is a period film, but with a less seriousness to it and with the goal to entertain than rather teach you one or two things about the 1700s. It´s about upper and lower class finding a way to work together to reach their goal that will take them away from their misery to the brave new world. I reckon it has a solid mix of comedy, action, drama with a twist of a lovestory to it. I liked as well the take on using a very modern soundtrack that did actually work within the film. The weak spot is Liv Tyler who can´t seem to really fit in her role in my opinion. Trivia: Plunkett & Macleane was a flop at the box office. The film opened on 1 October 1999 in 475 U.S. theaters, taking in US$244,765 during its first three days; total domestic earnings stand at US$474,900. Despite being panned by the critics, it was acclaimed by worldwide audiences and has gained a very strong cult following.