Mr. Nice, an ironic name for one of Britain’s most notorious “criminals,” but that indeed an alias for drug dealer (marijuana) entrepreneur, Howard Marks, a man’s whose life is chronicled in ‘Mr. Nice,’ I was fortunate to see at SXSW 2010 and to meet its stars on the red carpet. Rhys Ifans, who stars as Marks, told me that he was excited to have the role, since he knew Marks personally, through pen pal relationship and felt honored to fill his shoes. Director/ writer Bernard Rose took on the project because he did not see Marks as a criminal, even though British and American authorities did. I will stay out of that debate, but am delighted that I had the opportunity to see the film.
‘Mr Nice’ is based on the bestselling autobiography by Howard Marks, who became one of the UK’s largest drug smugglers, who ran his business out of a dress shop at one time and who married and had three daughters and a son, before he finally was arrested and jailed. The film follows Marks from his youth, with Ifans playing all ages before and after he moves away from home to study at Oxford and Sussex Universities and into his days in prison. His fame came following his release from an American penitentiary after being convicted and serving seven years, for international drug-smuggling offenses. He claims to have connections with MI6, the IRA, and the Mafia, but the movie only touches on these aspects of Marks’ life, focusing rather on Marks’ the intellectual, the master businessman, the drug smuggler and most clearly the father and husband, who truly loves his family.
Ifans is wonderful in the role and even if he played all age levels of Marks, several for which he is far too old. I don’t know anything about Marks’, but Ifans gives us a character who on one hand knowingly breaks the law, but justifies it with the obvious love for and the desire to take care of a provide for his family. His character is indeed a paradox – both criminal and loving family man. I suppose, if I look closely, it is in his family that Marks’ finds his validation for making gobs and gobs of money selling trafficking marijuana – that and the fact that he saw the illegalization of cannabis unwarranted.
Gracious and pretty Chloë Sevigny, who stars as Judy Marks, Howard’s wife, a woman who loves her husband dearly, but is frightened to lose him, told me that “tortured wife” was easy to play given her costar and the circumstances of the story. Sevigny looks and acts every bit the part, although she appeared to struggle with the British accent. She told me she “enjoyed the opportunity to try the accent.” Judy’s personality has her speaking up infrequently, at least in my opinion, so while I was wholly impressed with the actress’s portrayal of Mrs. Marks, I think the accent was too subtle and mainly unrecognizable or notable. I wonder why, in many cases it seems easy for British or Australian actors to do an American accent, but so much more difficult for Americans to pull off other accents – ah, I digress to one of my peeves.
Every actor in ‘Mr. Nice’ does an amazing job. The realism of costumes and sets and feel of the periods and locations covered are ideal – transporting the audience into life and times of it characters. David Thewlis, who was not at SXSW with the others, adds fire and sparks as an IRA member, Jim McCann, collaborates with Marks, all the while fighting for his own battles. I suppose what impressed me most about Howard Marks (from what I gathered watching ‘Mr. Nice’) is in the way that the man’s technical brilliance of his networking skills, in a time when there were no computers, social networks, or cell phone allowed him to trafficking an amazing volume of marijuana - smoked all over the world – a great deal of it by Marks himself apparently.
The young woman who watched the screening with me enjoyed the film as well and she’s decades younger than I (though old enough for an R film), so I feel the R-rated ‘Mr. Nice’ will find a wide audience. Sure part of the excitement for me came from sharing the experience at SXSW, with members of the cast and crew and 1200 other pumped up movie goers. A B is what I am putting in my grade book for ‘Mr. Nice.’ It has its flaws, but seems very true to form for the type of life Marks lived back then.
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