Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Jimi Mistry

Director: Guy Ritchie

If Guy Ritchie had a bad time last year, this is the good news. The director, who has long been trying to establish himself as more than Madonna’s (now ex-) husband, comes up with a solid RocknRolla, carrying a distinct stamp of style, cool and Britishness that immediately sets it aside from Hollywood mob films.

Also written by Ritchie, the film begins by underlining what is rock ‘n’ roll, and this film captures, according to it, all of it: the music, the glamour and the madness.

While the plot, basically about real-estate corruption in a fast-growing England, is complex, and has many, many side stories you shouldn’t really care about. The characters — and there are a lot, in a colourful mix of races, nationalities and accents — ensure you just go with the flow.

They include Mob boss Lenny Cole (Wilkinson), his henchman Archy (Strong), his main thug One Two (Butler) of the Wild Bunch, a sexy, bored accountant organising robberies on her own boss Stella (Newton), and corrupt councillor (Mistry).

That’s a nice cast and Ritchie gets good, edgy performances from all of them. But perhaps his bigger achievement is that all are on the same wavelength as him, and so each knows better than to take himself/herself too seriously.

shalini.langer@expressindia.com