On paper, All Things to All Men sounds like the next Guy Ritchie movie. It’s being described as a fast-paced, London-based crime thriller, with one character trapped in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game being waged between a police chief and a crime lord. Throw in some macho dialogue and a handful of flashy edits, and it’s a Ritchie special.
Only it isn’t coming to us from the Snatch and Rock-N-Rolla director. All Things will mark the directorial debut of newcomer George Isaac, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s luring a top-notch cast. Rufus Sewell has agreed to play the maverick law enforcement official. Gabriel Byrne signed on to play the sadistic crime boss. And Brit TV star Toby Stephens is all set to play Riley, a criminal trying to play both sides of a dangerous situation.
Isaac will co-produce All Things with Pierre Mascolo, who collaborated with him in two films: Kidulthood and Adulthood. No word on who penned this modern crime thriller for Isaac, though THR does add that Elsa Pataky, Leo Gregory, Julian Sands and James Frain have been cast in supporting roles.
So now we’ll wait to see what kind of directorial style Isaac brings to the table. Will he, as I suggest, be another Ritchie clone? Will All Things rise up to the level of Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake? Or could it possibly introduce a wholly original method of criminal storytelling that has us comparing films to Isaac’s work in the future? I’m hoping for that last one, because he has a solid cast in place, so good things should happen.
