Guy Ritchie, Snatch (2000)

Having seen Troy (2004) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997) starring Brad Pitt, convinced me that Brad Pitt must be the worst actor currently alive in Hollywood. Ever since, I have periodically been in heated debates with Hollywood movie fans, who swear that I am wrong about Brad Pitt. So I throw the dogs a bone and admit that I thought Pitt delivered an excellent performance in Fight Club (1999). But at the same time, I have sealed a pact with myself, that I would no longer watch movies that feature Brad Pitt.

I recently was pointed out the existence of Pikeys or Irish Travellers and the same person recommended to me to watch Snatch, in which Bradd Pitt plays the Pikey Mickey O’Neil. Irish Travellers are a fascinating ethnicity that can be traced back to the Medieval era as a separate people and speak their own language. Although Guy Ritchie is a mediocre director and a simply horrific script writer whose humoristic punchlines never rise above the level of predictability, in Snatch he has gathered a few actors that are able to uplift a bad movie to an entertaining movie. Snatch is not a very good movie, and although Pitt plays a similar character in Fight Club, the latter stands in a different category. Pitt’s acting in Snatch is also not particularly outstanding, but he does impress by his effort to remain true to the authentic Irish Traveller’s language, which he apparently studied intensively. If you’re interested in Irish Travellers, Brad Pitt’s acting in Snatch makes it worth watching the movie, but that’s the only reason.