We've been told to never judge a book by its cover, but we secretly always judge a movie by its teaser image. Skimming through the program of the Miami International Film Festival, there's one image that stands out of a man in a royal blue suit.
It's Jude Law like you've never seen him before.
Making its Florida premiere at MIFF, Dom Hemingway proves two things: Law is a sexy beast, and he's also quite the funnyman.
The opening scene shows an almost unrecognizable Law with a handlebar mustache and his big, buff, bare hairy chest. In his best cockney accent, he recites the most poetic ode to his penis as he receives fellatio. As the young gentleman gets off his knees and wipes his mouth, it's back to the prison cell for the both of them.
Dom Hemingway (Law) is a crook's crook, seeing as he has spent the last 12 years in prison doing extra time because he didn't rat out his accomplices when he got caught. That's an honorable thing to do for a thief, and his crime boss, a man by the name of Mr. Fontaine, owes him a great deal of gratitude, and cash.
When Dom finally gets let out of prison, the first thing he goes to do is beat the crap out of the man who moved in with his wife, then it's off to the pub to make up for lost time.
With his good friend Dickie by his side, Dom embarks on a trip to the French countryside to pay a visit to Mr. Fontaine. Things only escalate quickly while we're spending "a weekend in the country among thieves."
In no particular order: there's a car wreck, there are some fancy prostitutes, there's tons of blow, and there's even a quick side-view of that body part we heard so much about in the beginning of the film. And that's just in one weekend.
After the countryside, Dom and Dickie head back to London. At this point, Dom has reached rock bottom and is penniless, lacking the courage to see his grown-up daughter. In a moment of deep thought, Dom says, "A man with no options suddenly has all the options in the world." He and Dickie have no idea what that means, but it seems to ring true for him at the time.
Now that there's nowhere left to go but up, Dom's luck eventually begins to come around.
Law is effortlessly funny as the vulgar, gold-tooth, safecracking peasant who is trying to get back on his feet in the dark comedy Dom Hemingway. It's a wild 90-minute ride, and you're going to want to strap in and prepare to fall for Dom Hemingway.
Dom Hemingway is scheduled for a wide release in the coming months, and next screens on the last night of the Miami International Film Festival at Regal South Beach Cinemas on Sunday, March 16 at 9:15 p.m. Visit miamifilmfestival.com for tickets.
