Plunkett & Macleane

Plunkett & Macleane is a 1999 British historical action comedy film directed by Jake Scott, and starring Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. Gary Oldman was executive producer.

The story was co-written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. It follows the story of Captain James Macleane (Miller) and Will Plunkett (Carlyle), two men in eighteenth century Britain who are both struggling to survive. The characters are loosely based on two genuine highwaymen of the eighteenth century, James MacLaine and William Plunkett, although the story bears little relation to their actual lives.

Plot
1748 England is infested with highwaymen — men such as Will Plunkett, a London-based criminal working with his partner Rob. When Rob is killed by sadistic Thief Taker General Chance after a botched heist outside debtor's prison, Plunkett must find a way to retrieve a large ruby that his partner had swallowed. What he doesn't know is that the incident was witnessed by James Macleane, a socialite from the upper echelons of society, who had found himself in debtor's prison. Macleane sees the same ruby as his ticket out of debtors' prison and decides to steal it.

Plunkett ambushes Macleane and forces him to give up the ruby, but when they are discovered by Chance's men, Plunkett swallows it. While in Newgate Prison, the two form a partnership that utilizes Plunkett's criminal know-how and Macleane's social status to bribe their way out of prison. This tentative partnership leads to an unlikely alliance, deemed "The Gentlemen Highwaymen", where they gladly relieve the gentry of their possessions.

When Macleane falls for the beautiful Lady Rebecca, the niece of the powerful Lord Gibson, their plans to escape to British North America go awry. The pair part ways after a disastrous attempt to rescue Lady Rebecca from forced marriage, which leads to the death of Lord Gibson, and the discovery that Macleane has gambled away all of their profits.

Macleane is eventually captured and tried for Lord Gibson's murder, denying the charge of murder but confessing to cheating his fellow highwayman and expressing remorse. As Macleane keeps his a date with the Tyburn gallows. Plunkett arrives, shoots the rope, and rescues Macleane, aided by Lady Rebecca and the flamboyant Lord Rochester. After a tense chase through the London sewers that sees Plunkett killing Chance, the three escape to freedom.

Release and reception
Plunkett & Macleane grossed £2,757,485 ($4.6 million) in the United Kingdom. It underperformed at the US box office. The film opened on 1 October 1999 in 475 U.S. theaters, taking in $244,765 during its first three days; total US earnings stand at $474,900.

The film received mainly negative reviews; Rotten Tomatoes lists a 24% rating based on reviews from 29 critics. Metacritic gives it a score of 44 out of 100 from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Derek Elley of Variety wrote, "[T]he script and dialogue are nowhere near well-tooled enough, and the film's generally dark, cold look and baroque design play against the lighter touch required. Though he certainly puts the reported $15 million budget up on the screen, helmer Jake Scott (son of Ridley Scott) seems happiest when pushing ahead to his next montage sequence, each of which has the brio that should have informed the whole movie." Roger Ebert said, "Here is a film overgrown with so many directorial flourishes that the heroes need machetes to hack their way to within view of the audience."

Despite being panned by the critics, it was acclaimed by worldwide audiences and has gained a cult following.