At the Movies: 'Snatch'

A character beats the living daylights out of his victim and then casually remarks, ``bonjour.'' Another offers advice on the best way to dispose of a corpse, and comments, ``goody gumdrops.''

Wednesday, January 17th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A character beats the living daylights out of his victim and then casually remarks, ``bonjour.'' Another offers advice on the best way to dispose of a corpse, and comments, ``goody gumdrops.''

Welcome to the ceaselessly â€” and tiresomely â€” flip world of ``Snatch,'' the new movie from British director Guy Ritchie, better known these days as Madonna's husband.

Well before his December wedding to the pop icon, Ritchie burst upon the scene two years ago as the writer-director of ``Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels,'' a gangster film that was hip and violent and enjoyably paper-thin.

It's the enjoyment factor that's missing from this latest venture, which uses some of the earlier film's cast â€” Jason Statham and former soccer player Vinnie Jones â€” while ladling on a facetiousness that has lost its charm.

The characters may suggest an Anglicized Damon Runyon landscape, with names like Franky Four Fingers, Doug the Head, Boris the Blade and Gorgeous George.

But despite the ``street cred'' â€” as the English refer to the streetwise world of London's lads â€” ``Snatch'' suffers from a story that goes stale even as it's being told.

The setting, naturally, is London's criminal underworld, and the story involves a jewel heist that spans countries, cultures, and social echelons, with Brad Pitt's Mickey O'Neil inhabiting a milieu all his own.

Pitt is likably game, playing a wild-eyed gypsy with a pugilist's physique and a barely penetrable accent. And if his, uh, unique Irish brogue would seem to require subtitles all its own, well, why not? Its very oddness is written into the script.

Pitt's bare-knuckle boxing champ would seem to be the talking point of the film, and the actor certainly looks happier here than he did previously trying on an accent â€” opposite Tom Cruise in ``Interview With the Vampire.''

But far from being the outright star, Pitt is presented in the ensemble as one of various low-lifes.

Dennis Farina is on hand as Avi, a New Yorker adrift in cockney London, while Benicio Del Toro, the baleful (and excellent) co-star of ``Traffic,'' appears here to considerably less effect as Franky Four Fingers.

The plot, such as it is, bounces among these men and others, telling of the largely comic efforts to retrieve an 84-carat jewel that has disappeared from its Antwerp home.

Sadism and psychosis figure large, but so does the prevailing sense that none of it really matters anyway.

Ritchie, who apprenticed in videos and commercials, and his producer, Matthew Vaughn, might well argue that to dislike ``Snatch'' is to take it far too seriously.

Be forewarned that â€” in the best British tradition â€” the canines have it: amid the climate of slaughter, maiming, and burning that characterizes ``Snatch,'' a dog is the only screen creature to engender anything approaching pity.

``Snatch'' is a Screen Gems presentation in association with SKA films. Running time: 103 minutes. Rated R for violence, strong language and some nudity.

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Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G â€” General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG â€” Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 â€” Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R â€” Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 â€” No one under 17 admitted.