Dom Hemingway is a great Jude Law character in a decent movie

Why is it so easy to root for the bad boy? There’s something interesting about how willing audiences are to root for the full spectrum of “unpleasant” characters, from the mildly conflicted to the antihero to the scum. But movies usually try to give a bit of a reason, so there’s always something. Maybe it’s a tragic past, a way to connect and sympathize with them, or perhaps it’s a comparison to villains that are even worse. For example, Batman is certainly a violent vigilante outside the law, but he’s fighting criminals. Danny Ocean from Ocean’s 11 is a thief of a girlfriend and money, but he’s stealing from a jerk. Peter Griffin is an awful human being, but he’s in a (mostly) funny cartoon.

That’s another thing — the hyper-realism of fiction lends itself to painting bad guys as main characters. So we easily get involved in people like Omar, Don Draper, or Walter White, although they objectively do terrible, immoral things of varying degrees. And that’s the real reason we often root for these guys. Wish fulfillment and falling under the sway of overwhelming charisma.

Dom Hemingway stars Jude Law as Dom, a criminal just out of prison because he refused to snitch on his crime boss, Mr. Fontaine (Demian Bichir). Dom has a few things to take care of, like meeting up with his old friend Dickie (Richard E. Grant) to visit his old boss to get his “reward” for not talking. He also has to beat up his late ex-wife’s widower, because, well, Dom is a violent alcoholic. There’s also the minor problem of his estranged daughter Evelyn, played by Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke.

So we follow Dom on this fascinating, slightly original story of these days soon out of prison while he tries to get back in the spirit of things. Of course, due to his temper and bad luck, things go badly in various ways and Dom may not be able to get out in one piece or sober. This is a different sort of movie than the typical criminal genre type, because it mixes up drama and comedy in interesting ways. There’s a sort of narrative arc here, but it’s really just about Dom and his series of misadventures. Some parts have a point, some don’t, and that’s why the movie is really quite a mixed bag.

The movie has some pretty great dialogue, and Jude Law is endlessly watchable as he roars out hilarious and profane tirades. Often the movie plays things very simply stylistically, but then it’ll change things up with chapter cards or some effective slow motion, startling you entirely. Although the movie is generally of decent quality, there’s a bit of tonal mess. Scenes go from witty repartee to tense standoffs quickly, but then it’ll toss in an attempt at some emotional resonance. Specifically, these are the subplots where Dom is trying to reconnect with his daughter. Those parts are unfortunately the weakest of the movie, seemingly shoehorned in to make Dom more “decent,” and not entirely succeeding at that. But the good news is that the movie really works when it comes to the performances.

Jude Law exudes confidence and fury as the complicated Dom, giving one of his best performances — well, ever. But the movie would weigh too far in the dreary direction were it not for the hilarious dry deadpan of Richard Grant as Dom’s partner, because this guy elicited laughs just with a weary look. The supporting roles are decent as well, with Demian Bichir doing excellent work with a fairly minimal part, although his Russian does not exactly stay consistent. Emilia Clarke is a bit weak in her role, but in fairness, the character is written very . . . flimsily. Unfortunately, this is also part of the weakest elements of the movie, but it’s where it should’ve tried the hardest.

The movie flies during the debauchery with ease and style, but when it comes time to slow down, it really slows down too much. In general, this is a movie about an interesting character, a terrible individual with charisma and just a smidgen of depth. There’s plenty of profanity and a little nudity, but for a crime movie there’s really very little violence. That said, this is a certainly an adults only film.

I like seeing these sort of character pieces, and even though this one didn’t work from beginning to end, the character is one I’ll remember. For a least a little while.