Emilia Clarke, Jude Law star in 'Dom Hemingway'

Emilia Clarke and Jude Law star in the film 'Dom Hemingway,' which finds Law portraying an ex-con who reunites with his daughter (Clarke). Emilia Clarke stars on the HBO fantasy drama 'Game of Thrones.'

|
Nick Wall/Fox Searchlight Pictures/AP
Emilia Clarke (l.) and Jude Law (r.) star in 'Dom Hemingway.'

A temperamental, egotistical, British ex-con with a soft side for the daughter he left behind, Jude Law is magnetic as the title character in "Dom Hemingway," an amusing tale of vengeance, debauchery, and redemption told stylishly by writer-director Richard Shepard.

Fresh out of prison after serving 12 years, so reads the first of many chapter cards, Dom and his partner-in-crime, Dickie Black (an amusingly dry Richard E. Grant), head to the lavish home of his boss, Mr. Fontaine (the equally charming and ruthless Demian Bichir). Dom refused to rat out the crime boss and he's come to collect for his good deed. But before he can walk away with his hefty gift, a brush with death – effectively displayed in slow motion – leaves him empty-handed.

Broke, bloody and liquored up, Dom shows up at his daughter's doorstep hoping she'll welcome him with open arms. But Evelyn (Emilia Clarke of "Game of Thrones" as a redhead), now living with her significant other and their son, is less than impressed with her father. And so begins his quest to win back her affection, while dipping back into a life of crime to try to make a bit of change. Luckily, he's still an expert when it comes to opening safes.

Dom is one of Law's richest roles yet. He packed on an extra 20 pounds and rocked thick lamb-chop sideburns for this one. He's brazenly comical, absurdly grimy and believably brawny. But at times, his Dom is ridiculously unsympathetic. He bloodies the face of a man who romanced his wife during his jail sentence, but we discover that man cared for her as she died of cancer.

As Dom is unable to piece his life back together, especially where Evelyn is concerned, his snarling arrogance subsides and he begins to succeed at getting us to feel sorry for him. We also take cues from his adorable grandson (Jordan A. Nash), who seems content just sitting next to Dom.

The same writer-director behind the crime comedy "The Matador," Shepard writes with rousing wit, but occasional scenes tend to drag and feel excessive.

It's the film's humor that also makes Dom likable. Many of the blows to his ego are due to his droll naivety. But it's a good look for Law, who checks his pretty boy image at the door to give one of his grittiest performances yet.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Emilia Clarke, Jude Law star in 'Dom Hemingway'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2014/0407/Emilia-Clarke-Jude-Law-star-in-Dom-Hemingway
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe