Director Bernard Rose likes to work his way around an eclectic variety of genres (his earlier credits range from horror titles like Candyman to lavish period costumers like Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina). Here, he turns his hand to a fact-based biopic charting the rise and fall of one of the world's biggest drug smugglers, Howard Marks (a.k.a. Mr Nice). It's basically an Anglicized version of movies like Scarface and Blow. There's a lot in the film that is very enjoyable and good-humoured, and Ifans makes a roguishly likable leading character, but it also has its share of problems. One of the main weaknesses is that the film idolises Marks slightly too much (it is, after all, based on his own autobiography) and the result is a film which lacks a balanced perspective. Even when we see Marks at his lowest ebb – incarcerated in an American jail, health deteriorating, family barely allowed to visit, abandoned by all his "friends" – there's still an uncomfortable sense that the film wants us to be in adoration of Marks and everything he stands for.
Brought up in a small close-knit Welsh community, Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) breaks the mould when he makes it into Oxford University. Soon, the naïve young Welshman discovers the allure of sex and drugs and it changes his life forever. After qualifying as a teacher, Marks's association with the whole culture of drugs refuses to fade away. Soon he is running drugs across the border as a little enterprise on the side and discovers just how easy – and profitable – drug smuggling can be. With his long-suffering wife Judy (Chloe Sevigny) along for the ride, Marks rises to notoriety and extraordinary wealth in the world of drug trafficking. He even forges an alliance with Jim McCann (David Thewlis) of the terrorist organisation the IRA to help him get the merchandise into the country. But nothing lasts forever, and Marks's eventual fall is as devastating as it is inevitable
There's nothing in Mr Nice that we haven't seen before but it does its thing with a confident verve that makes the film consistently absorbing viewing. Ifans gets perhaps the strongest role of his career to date, and doesn't disappoint! His resemblance to the real Marks is pretty striking, and he makes the character totally likable and charming in spite of his flaws. Even the voice-over – so often a dull and clichéd movie-making technique – is lent a degree of wit and world-weariness by Ifans. Surprisingly the weak link in the acting department is the usually-reliable Thewlis, whose IRA terrorist McCann is portrayed as a farcical comedy character and doesn't fit believably into the film. As already noted the film tells Marks's story with the utmost sympathy and support for the man himself, which raises certain issues that are not satisfactorily explored. Is a life of wealth really so glamorous when it is spent on the run? Are the cops really as dumb as portrayed in this film? Can people involved in the drug trade truly be likable and roguish as portrayed here? On the whole, Mr. Nice is a totally watchable, fast-moving, nostalgic blast – but does the audience come away believing they have seen the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I don't think so.
Brought up in a small close-knit Welsh community, Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) breaks the mould when he makes it into Oxford University. Soon, the naïve young Welshman discovers the allure of sex and drugs and it changes his life forever. After qualifying as a teacher, Marks's association with the whole culture of drugs refuses to fade away. Soon he is running drugs across the border as a little enterprise on the side and discovers just how easy – and profitable – drug smuggling can be. With his long-suffering wife Judy (Chloe Sevigny) along for the ride, Marks rises to notoriety and extraordinary wealth in the world of drug trafficking. He even forges an alliance with Jim McCann (David Thewlis) of the terrorist organisation the IRA to help him get the merchandise into the country. But nothing lasts forever, and Marks's eventual fall is as devastating as it is inevitable
There's nothing in Mr Nice that we haven't seen before but it does its thing with a confident verve that makes the film consistently absorbing viewing. Ifans gets perhaps the strongest role of his career to date, and doesn't disappoint! His resemblance to the real Marks is pretty striking, and he makes the character totally likable and charming in spite of his flaws. Even the voice-over – so often a dull and clichéd movie-making technique – is lent a degree of wit and world-weariness by Ifans. Surprisingly the weak link in the acting department is the usually-reliable Thewlis, whose IRA terrorist McCann is portrayed as a farcical comedy character and doesn't fit believably into the film. As already noted the film tells Marks's story with the utmost sympathy and support for the man himself, which raises certain issues that are not satisfactorily explored. Is a life of wealth really so glamorous when it is spent on the run? Are the cops really as dumb as portrayed in this film? Can people involved in the drug trade truly be likable and roguish as portrayed here? On the whole, Mr. Nice is a totally watchable, fast-moving, nostalgic blast – but does the audience come away believing they have seen the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I don't think so.