MR. NICE
Bernard Rose, 2010
MPI Blu Ray review by Adam Abouaccar

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“A dealer is really just buy cheapest viagra online someone who buys more dope than he can smoke. And I have to say, I’m ashamed, I tried to smoke it all. There was just too fuckin’ much of it.”

Mr. Nice, the screen adaptation of the best-selling 1996 autobiography, opens with infamous drug smuggler Howard Marks confiding in his audience what we as filmgoers have already heard, with some variation, from the likes of Henry Hill and George Jung before him. One should approach Mr. Nice with that in mind. The fact that they’re not rewriting the book on anything seems apparent to the filmmaker (Bernard Rose, who gave us Candyman and Paperhouse), who uses every frame of the film’s first hour to give us exactly what we’d expect from the life of a man who at one point controlled 10% of the world’s hashish trade. At its best moments, the film does not viagra no prescription take itself too seriously and is damn funny because of it.

Howard Marks

Howard Marks, an intellectual and, for all intents and purposes, an outcast among his peers, discovers marijuana during his time at Oxford, opening himself up to a world he’d never heard of and finding his priorities have now shifted from his studies to getting stoned and writing poetry. This fresh perspective quickly united pharmacy canada becomes way too heavy for Marks, who in an effort at self-preservation decides to fly straight right when the world around him is starting to loosen up. Flash forward to Marks post-graduation as a teacher, and he quickly realizes that he wasn’t cut out for any life other than that of a dopehead; it doesn’t take long for him to find a way to make that life profitable. Mr. Nice follows Howard Marks on his wild and crazy trip from drug runner to drug baron, along the way introducing us to Afghani Hash manufacturers, an unhinged soldier of the IRA, MI6 operatives, a bearded Crispin Glover, his many assumed identities, and the lovely and supportive Judy, who mothers Marks’ three children and sticks by him through his inevitable fall and redemption (as required by the genre). Mr. Nice is a grab-bag of truly fun and sometimes unbelievable moments that, although a joy to watch, make it too apparent at points that the film must be glossing over certain aspects of Marks’ autobiography.

Rhys Ifans as Howard Marks

Although the film brings nothing new to the table, it does make stylistic choices that are worth noting. Bernard Rose’s cinematography is effective, coercively injecting us into the action alongside Marks and using a colour palette that’s an absolute pleasure to watch (and making it a great movie to take in on Blu Ray). The unusual decision to use rear-projection and green screen effects for many of the movie’s backdrops is often alienating and seemingly unnecessary on many occasions. The choice to do so might be owed to the film’s meagre two month shooting schedule or to a limited budget, a good chunk of which might have been put aside to pay the film’s all-star cast of character actors and cult favourites.

David Thewlis (l) and Rhys Ifans (r)

In fact, the easiest way to sell Mr. Nice is to call attention to who’s in it. The lead is played by Rhys Ifans of Twintown, Notting Hill, Enduring Love, and Exit Through the Gift Shop fame. His continuing portrayal of roles that call for his eccentric Welshman persona coupled with his very real rock star personality off-screen make him an ideal candidate for Marks. He’s pitch-perfect and very likeable. The only issue with Ifans is that half the time, he looks far from cialis professional age-appropriate. Unlike Ray Liotta, who pulled off both mid twenties and early forties as Henry Hill in Goodfellas, Ifans starts off looking too old for a university student, and does not age for the rest of the movie’s duration. The only signs in fact that Marks must logically be getting older are the occasional moments where the film checks in on his kids who are replaced by different actors every time we meet them. Meanwhile, David Thewlis shows yet again why he keeps getting work in what is, with little doubt, the film’s most memorable performance as an impassioned soldier of the IRA who – along with being a weapons smuggler – decides that he doesn’t have any qualms with dabbling in Marks’ imports and exports. As I mentioned earlier, we get to see cult favourite Crispin Glover, bearded and peddling his trademark strangeness as Marks’ US contact, replete with new age ramblings and a yoga-crazed wife. Lastly, Chloe Sevigny, a sex symbol in her own right, gives a solid performance as Judy Marks, Howard’s wife.

The Blu-Ray offered by MPI Home Video is a fine release, offering a 15 minute “Making Of” featurette as well as the theatrical trailer. Commentaries available on the E-One release are not present on this disc, which is disappointing as it means missing out on commentary by Howard Marks himself. Though this release presents the film in a proper fashion, justifying whether or not one should buy the Blu-Ray is dependent upon the film’s prospective rewatchability, a quality that I don’t feel this film has. Nevertheless, Mr. Nice remains a great release from MPI, whose eclectic winter lineup also includes Black Power Mixtape, Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Landis’ Burke and Hare.

About the author:

Adam Abouaccar