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Mr Nice
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Mr Nice
Directed byBernard Rose
Screenplay byBernard Rose
Based onMr Nice
by Howard Marks
Produced byLuc Roeg
Starring
CinematographyBernard Rose
Edited by
  • Teresa Font
  • Bernard Rose
Music byPhilip Glass
Production
companies
Independent Film Productions
Kanzaman
Distributed byContender Entertainment (UK)
Release dates
  • 14 March 2010 (2010-03-14) (SXSW)
  • 8 October 2010 (2010-10-08) (United Kingdom)
  • 20 July 2012 (2012-07-20) (Spain)
Running time
121 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Spain
LanguageEnglish

Mr Nice[1] (US title Mr. Nice) is a 2010 crime drama film written and directed by Bernard Rose, Mr Nice is in part a biopic, a loose film adaptation of Mr Nice, the cult 1997 autobiography by Howard Marks. The film features an ensemble cast starring Rhys Ifans as Howard Marks, along with David Thewlis, Omid Djalili, Jack Huston, Crispin Glover and Chloë Sevigny.

Ifans portrays Marks, a Welsh marijuana smuggler who ran one of the biggest global cannabis smuggling operations from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, mostly while on the run. Marks associated with some of the more colourful characters of the era, allegedly even cutting deals with the FBI, the Mafia, the IRA and MI6. After serving time in Terre Haute, one of the "toughest" prisons in the United States, Marks stopped smuggling and dealing in cannabis (although he still openly used the drug himself) and gained wider fame as a pro-cannabis campaigner, stand-up comedian, actor (at least in cameos), lads' mag columnist, television show panelist, music producer, motivational speaker, and even prospective Member of Parliament.

Like Marks's autobiography on which it is based, the film has polarised critics.

Plot

[edit]

The film begins in 2010, with 65-year-old Howard Marks going onto a stage in front of a packed theatre to great applause. Marks asks if there are any plainclothes policemen in the audience, to which the reply is negative. Then, while lighting up a joint, Marks asks, "Who here is a dope (marijuana) smoker?", to even greater applause. The film then diverts to Marks's internal monologue as he recounts his life.

Born in the Welsh valleys in 1945, young Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans), later nicknamed Mr Nice, excels academically beyond the national standard of the United Kingdom. This remarkable aptitude earns him a scholarship to Oxford University at age nineteen, where he reads philosophy and physics. But Marks's destiny changes one night while he is dutifully studying alone in his dorm. A beautiful, rebellious and hedonistic foreign exchange student from Latvia, Ilze Kadegis (Elsa Pataky), breaks into Marks's room, looking for a secret passageway within. Marks follows Kadegis through the secret passageway and into a forgotten storage space used by one of the school's top marijuana dealers, Graham Plinson (Jack Huston). Kadegis seduces Marks and introduces him to cannabis for the first time. For the next few years, Marks becomes an enthusiastic customer of Plinson's, and continues his love affairs with both Kadegis and cannabis. The group enjoy a series of wilder and wilder nights, with their academic lives suffering as a result.

Circumstances change for the worse when Plinson introduces the group to LSD. When rich heir Joshua Macmillan, a friend of Marks's, dies of an overdose and Marks impales his foot on a spike, Marks vows to never touch drugs again - or at least the harder variety of drugs. The trio of Marks, Kadegis and Plinson promise each other to turn over a new leaf, and they pass their scholarships through some intense last-minute revision and a little cheating. They then all move on to teacher training courses at the University of London in 1967, where Marks hastily marries Kadegis. Fractures begin appearing early in their marriage, with Marks becoming despondent, apathetic and suspecting Kadegis of having an affair. Marks also gets into trouble at the university for "having long hair and flashy suits".

When plans to bring a large cache of hashish into England via Germany go wrong and Plinson is arrested, Marks steps in to help, figuring that he has nothing left to lose anyway. Marks goes to Germany and drives a car holding the stash of drugs across the borders himself, simply driving through customs. The customs officers are on the lookout for Plinson's crew, but do not know Marks, who sails through without incident. Marks says that the thrill of getting away with it was like a "religious flash and an asexual orgasm". After Marks sells the hashish back in London to an Arab oil sheik named Saleem Malik (Omid Djalili), he makes a fortune and swiftly becomes addicted to this new but dangerous lifestyle as a big league marijuana trafficker, eventually running a large percentage of the world's cannabis trade.

It is a path that will lead Marks face-to-face with terrorists, government agents, and lose him his freedom to one of the toughest prisons in the United States in 1988, through to the present day as a media personality and cult hero.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Following the success of Marks's 1997 autobiography Mr Nice, which became a best-seller (ranked #1 book regarding drugs on Amazon),[2] Marks began to make a name for himself in a number of different media, and a film adaptation of the book was petitioned. In development hell for over a decade, the production of the film ended up as a collaboration between a number of smaller studios that included Independent Productions, Kanzaman Productions S.L., Séville Pictures, Prescience, Lipsync Productions LLP and the Wales Creative IP Fund.[citation needed] Marks was the main consultant for the film and for Ifans. The DVD includes a commentary by Howard Marks and a featurette in which Ifans impersonates Marks while both get intoxicated during a stand-up show, much to the delight of the crowd. Mr Nice was filmed in 2009 in Benidorm, Spain.[citation needed] The film features a 1960s pop-inspired soundtrack by Philip Glass, with original songs reflective of the era such as the works of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Fraternity of Man and John Lennon.[3]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Mr Nice made its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Texas, United States, in March 2010[4] and was first shown in the UK at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2010.[5][6] On 8 October 2010, it was released in the UK on 107 screens, taking in a first weekend gross of £528,534.[7] In June 2011, it was released in the United States.

Awards

[edit]

Mr Nice won the Award for Best Cinematography at the 2010 Kodak Awards.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]

Mr Nice polarized critics. As of June 2020, the film holds a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 45 reviews with an average rating of 5.53 out of 10.[9]

Dan Jolin of the film magazine Empire gave Mr Nice three out of five stars, writing "A solid, often entertaining life-of-crimer which benefits from some stylistic touches and a faithful, convincing central performance."[10][11]

Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling the Philip Glass soundtrack "pulsating" and writing: "Though the film takes a while to cast its spell, writer-director-cinematographer Bernard Rose's close observation of Marks and those around him becomes increasingly involving and allows Rose to comment on the widespread failure of the war on drugs."[12]

Time Out London gave the film four out of five stars, although it noted that the film was not without flaws: "The film adaptation of Howard Marks' autobiography – a student staple throughout the land – struggles to capture the sheer breadth of Marks' life." "Rather than riotous picaresque, the result is more like a meandering shaggy dog story."[13]

Benjamin Mercer of The Village Voice also gave a polarized review, awarding the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, yet also claiming that the film gave him the impression of glorifying cannabis use, or at the very least, being a vehicle for the advocation of legalizing cannabis - "Though told here with appealing drollness, Marks' story makes an odd vessel for the filmmakers' casually advanced legalization arguments, what with its mischief making on the grandest scale possible."[14]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Mr Nice

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Dennis Howard Marks (13 August 1945 – 10 April 2016), widely known by the alias Mr. Nice, was a Welsh smuggler who rose from University student to orchestrating multimillion-dollar importation networks supplying and during the and , later becoming an , , and advocate for reform after serving time in a U.S. . Born in the coal-mining village of Kenfig Hill, Marks earned a degree in from , where he initiated small-scale marijuana sales that evolved into sophisticated smuggling enterprises involving over 40 aliases, dozens of front companies, and connections to groups including the IRA and Colombian cartels, while insisting his operations dealt exclusively in rather than harder narcotics. Arrested in 1988 following DEA surveillance, he was extradited to the , convicted on charges, and sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment in 1990, but earned early release in 1995 after seven years as a model inmate. Post-release, Marks authored the bestselling 1996 autobiography Mr. Nice—named after a stolen from a man surnamed —which candidly chronicled his exploits and inspired a 2010 biopic starring , cementing his status as a countercultural icon despite controversies over his evasion tactics and alleged ties to violence-prone associates. In later years, he campaigned against , performed stand-up routines, and published further works until succumbing to cancer, maintaining that his "nice" moniker derived not from temperament but the alias.

Synopsis and cast

Plot summary

The film chronicles the life of Howard Marks, a Welshman born in the 1940s into a coal-mining family, who attends Oxford University to study physics and initially encounters through fellow students. After graduating and briefly working as a teacher, Marks is drawn into the trade for financial reasons, starting small but rapidly expanding into large-scale smuggling operations across , the , and beyond during the . Marks marries Judy, a fellow enthusiast of marijuana, and builds an extensive network involving mentors like the California-based kingpin Ernie Combs, IRA operative Jim McCann, and alleged ties to the , CIA, and , using aliases such as "Mr. Nice" to evade authorities while shipping tons of hidden in shipments like crates or suitcases. His operations grow to supply much of Britain's market, blending charm, ingenuity, and occasional violence, though personal relationships strain under the risks. The narrative culminates in Marks' 1988 arrest by the DEA following international cooperation, leading to a high-profile and a seven-year sentence in a U.S. ; upon release in 1995, he transitions to writing his and campaigning for legalization.

Cast and characters

stars as , the protagonist and real-life Welsh smuggler who transitions from an Oxford University student to an international trafficking kingpin in the and . portrays Judy Marks, Howard's American wife who becomes entangled in his criminal enterprises after meeting him during his studies. plays Jim McCann, an member who collaborates with Marks on operations, drawing from the historical figure's documented ties to IRA . Luis Tosar depicts Craig Lovato, a determined DEA agent tasked with dismantling Marks' network, representing the law enforcement pursuit that culminates in Marks' 1988 arrest. Crispin Glover assumes the role of Ernie Combs, one of Marks' eccentric associates in the hashish trade, highlighting the film's portrayal of the eclectic figures in his smuggling circle. Supporting roles include Jack Huston as Graham Plinson, a fellow Oxford acquaintance drawn into the drug world, and Omid Djalili in a comedic capacity amid the biographical narrative.
ActorCharacterDescription
Central figure; Oxford graduate turned global cannabis importer with operations spanning , the , and beyond.
Judy MarksHoward's spouse; relocates from the and participates peripherally in while raising their children.
Jim McCannIRA quartermaster aiding in arms-and-drug exchanges; based on the real McCann's evasion of authorities.
Craig LovatoLead investigator; embodies the federal task force's decade-long hunt leading to Marks' conviction on multiple counts.
Ernie CombsKey smuggler partner; involved in high-risk consignments from and .

Production

Development and adaptation

The film Mr. Nice (2010) is a loose biographical of ' 1996 autobiography of the same name, which recounts his experiences as a smuggler. In 2003, Films approached British director Bernard Rose with the proposal to develop the project after he read the book and expressed interest in adapting it. Rose, who served as , director, , and editor, collaborated initially with producer Liza Marshall at Films to craft the script, emphasizing Marks' personal charm and the non-violent nature of his operations over strict chronological fidelity. Development stalled at BBC Films due to internal challenges, prompting a shift to independent production under Luc Roeg at Independent Films, with financing secured from the and investors. Rose's adaptation incorporated improvisational elements during scripting and shooting, forgoing traditional rehearsals to capture spontaneous performances, particularly from lead actor , who had known Marks personally since meeting at festivals around and required minimal preparation for the role. The process also involved creative solutions like greenscreen integration of archival footage to depict international settings, such as 1970s Karachi, while prioritizing emotional authenticity over literal events. Marks himself approved of the adaptation, stating in a 2010 interview that it conveyed the "essence and emotions" of his life more effectively than the book, despite minor discrepancies like altered locations or attire, and highlighted its portrayal of his activities as victimless. He noted no direct involvement in scriptwriting but appreciated Ifans' intuitive embodiment of his persona, underscoring the film's focus on contextual repercussions rather than advocacy.

Filming and locations

for Mr. Nice commenced in 2009. Filming took place across and to capture the biographical elements of ' life, including his Welsh origins and international activities. Approximately half the production occurred in , adhering to the UK's indoor enacted in , which prohibited cigarette smoking on film sets and necessitated alternative approaches for close-up tobacco scenes. Specific Welsh locations included Bryn Eirw in Trehafod, , with the former Lewis Merthyr colliery visible in establishing shots, now part of the Heritage Park used as a base camp. In , where on-set smoking remained permissible at the time, the crew filmed smoking close-ups and other sequences in , , within the Comunidad Valenciana region. Director Bernard Rose cited these legal differences as a key factor in splitting the shoot, enabling authentic depiction of the protagonist's cannabis-related without post-production alterations. served as an additional filming site for urban scenes.

Release

Premiere and distribution

The film Mr. Nice had its world premiere at the (SXSW) Film Festival on March 14, 2010, in . Its European premiere followed at the on June 22, 2010, where cast member and subject attended a screening and discussion. Theatrical distribution began in the on October 8, 2010, handled by Contender Entertainment. In the United States, it received a limited release on June 3, 2011. Subsequent releases included on March 3, 2011, via Miracle Film Distribution; on April 13, 2011; and on July 20, 2012. Home media distribution encompassed a UK Blu-ray edition on January 31, 2011, and a U.S. DVD release in April 2011. By 2016, the film became available for streaming on platforms including those licensed by Mr. Nice Distribution Limited.

Box office performance

Mr. Nice was released in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2010, debuting at number 11 on the box office chart with an opening gross of £239,800. Over its theatrical run in the UK, the film accumulated a total gross of £772,000 across 12 weeks on the chart. In international markets, performance was limited. In , it opened on June 23, 2011, earning $65,813 over its first weekend in 47 theaters, and concluded with a total gross of $252,594. Other territories, such as , reported minimal earnings of $13,302. Worldwide, the film grossed approximately $1,673,840, reflecting modest commercial success for an independent biopic with restricted distribution. No official figures were publicly disclosed in available financial reports.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics, holding a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 47 reviews, with an average score of 5.6/10. On Metacritic, it scored 60 out of 100 from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reception. Reviewers frequently praised Rhys Ifans's lead performance as Howard Marks, describing it as convincing and faithful to the subject's charismatic persona. Empire magazine highlighted the film's stylistic touches and entertaining qualities as a "life-of-crimer" biopic. Critics commended the humor and affable tone, with calling it "frequently funny" and charming in a British indie style, while noted its lighthearted, amoral comedy-thriller elements. However, detractors pointed to structural flaws, including a choppy and lack of momentum; Variety described it as long and uneven, frustratingly close to brilliance but undermined by poor pacing. We Are Movie Geeks deemed it ultimately boring despite an odd, eclectic approach from director Bernard Rose. Some questioned the biopic's trustworthiness, as observed its amusing but selective portrayal of Marks's life.

Awards and nominations

Mr. Nice received limited recognition at film festivals. At the 2010 British Film Festival, the film won the Award for Best Cinematography, awarded for its visual style in depicting ' life. earned the award at the 2010 European Film Festival for his portrayal of , highlighting his performance in the biopic's lead role. No major international awards or nominations, such as from the or BAFTA, were received by the film or its cast.

Analysis and accuracy

Historical accuracy

The film Mr. Nice (2010) adapts ' 1996 autobiography of the same name, chronicling his evolution from Oxford University student in the late to orchestrating a global smuggling network spanning , , the , and through the early , culminating in his 1988 arrest in , 1990 U.S. conviction on drug conspiracy charges, and 25-year sentence (of which he served seven years before release in 1995). Marks, who collaborated on the production, acknowledged minor deviations in specifics—such as locations, sequences of actions, and attire—but affirmed that the effectively conveys the emotional core of his experiences beyond the book's literal recounting. Director Bernard Rose emphasized the story's basis in Marks' verified operations, including over 40 aliases (notably "Mr. Nice" from a passport purchased from Donald Nice) and shipments involving tons of via ships, planes, and submarines. Critics of the portrayal, including and associates, contend that both the film and sanitize Marks' enterprise by downplaying ties to violent figures and manipulative tactics inherent to high-stakes trafficking. For instance, Marks partnered with Canadian smuggler , who received a 33-year U.S. sentence partly due to Marks' network exposure and later described him as "the worst thing that ever happened to me," highlighting fallout from Marks' post-arrest disclosures. Similarly, collaborator Gerry Wills endured six years in a U.S. for in Marks' operations, aspects the film depicts in a lighter, comedic tone focused on ingenuity rather than interpersonal betrayals or risks to accomplices. DEA agent Craig Lovato, who pursued Marks for over a decade, portrayed him as obsessed with invincibility and adept at exploiting others, including laundering millions without formal records—traits the film romanticizes as roguish charm rather than calculated opportunism. Contemporaries further challenge the affable "Mr. Nice" archetype: childhood friend Marty Langford labeled Marks a "dealer junkie" and narcissist fixated on his legend, while Oxford acquaintance Lynn Barber dismissed notions of ideological altruism, viewing him as profit-driven without a coherent anti-prohibition manifesto until after imprisonment. Marks' book inadvertently assisted authorities by naming associates, aiding prosecutions the film omits. While core timeline events—such as early 1970s shipments from Lebanon and Morocco, IRA-linked diversions, and 1980s U.S. infiltration—align with documented indictments, the adaptation employs dramatic compression and humor, prioritizing entertainment over exhaustive causal details of operational hazards or ethical compromises in a trade linked to organized crime. This fidelity to Marks' self-narrative thus perpetuates a selective history, undervaluing empirical accounts from prosecutors and victims of the trade's ripple effects.

Portrayal of drug culture and smuggling

The film depicts ' initiation into during his Oxford University years in the late , featuring scenes of marijuana-fueled parties and orgies that evoke the era's quasi-mystical reverence for and psychedelics as part of countercultural experimentation. This portrayal frames early involvement as casual and hedonistic, transitioning from academic pursuits to small-scale dealing amid shifting societal attitudes toward recreational drugs in the post- landscape. Smuggling operations are shown expanding rapidly from rudimentary imports of high-grade via Afghan connections in the early 1970s to a sophisticated international network, including partnerships with an IRA operative for distribution, an for , contacts for recruitment, and American associates. The film illustrates Marks' claimed control over approximately 10% of the global trade by the late 1970s, sufficient to supply to every resident of the , emphasizing entrepreneurial ingenuity, evasion tactics like false identities, and non-violent logistics such as concealed shipments rather than overt criminal violence. Methods are stylized with a glossy, comedic tone, highlighting Marks' charm and intellect in outmaneuvering authorities, including courtroom deceptions alleging spy work for agencies like the CIA and Mexican . Overall, the portrayal presents smuggling as a demand-driven enterprise intertwined with personal relationships and family life, critiquing the Reagan-era as counterproductive while acknowledging marijuana's risks without endorsing blanket . is rendered as a blend of liberationist idealism from the —contrasting with later politicized —and pragmatic , avoiding glorification of harder substances and focusing on cannabis's cultural entrenchment in British and global youth scenes. Scenes of faked smoking due to UK workplace laws underscore a meta-awareness of contemporary restrictions on depicting drug use.

References

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/books/howard-marks-drug-smuggler-turned-author-dies.html
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/11/howard-marks-obituary
  3. https://time.com/4290174/howard-marks-obituary-drug-trade/
  4. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34465454
  5. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/extraordinary-story-how-howard-marks-11166569
  6. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183911/
  7. https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2011/07/mr-nice-the-review/
  8. https://www.metacritic.com/movie/mr-nice/
  9. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_nice
  10. https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film116999.html
  11. https://www.netflix.com/title/70117562
  12. https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/46934-mr-nice/cast?language=en-US
  13. https://www.screendaily.com/bernard-rose-/5019555.article
  14. https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-behind-mr-nice/
  15. https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/interviews/meeting-mr-nice
  16. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183911/locations/
  17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11469007
  18. https://www.reelstreets.com/films/mr-nice/
  19. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183911/releaseinfo/
  20. https://www.timeout.com/movies/mr-nice
  21. https://www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/film/mr-nice
  22. https://letterboxd.com/film/mr-nice/
  23. https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mr-Nice-Blu-ray/17136/
  24. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Nice-Ntsc-Region-NTSC/dp/B004JTGXC2
  25. https://25thframe.co.uk/movies/mr-nice/uk-box-office
  26. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Mr-Nice
  27. https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-movie-11654-323843
  28. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/10/mr-nice-howard-marks-review
  29. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/07/mr-nice-film-review
  30. https://variety.com/2010/film/news/dagenham-treacle-share-dinard-s-top-prize-1118025462/
  31. http://festivalcinesevilla.eu/en/prize-winners
  32. https://variety.com/2010/film/awards/babylon-tops-spain-s-seville-fest-1118027440/
  33. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183911/awards/
  34. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz3yll6w6o
  35. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/movies/rhys-ifans-as-drug-dealer-in-mr-nice-review.html
  36. https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2011/4/19/mr-nice-movie-review-rhys-ifans-as-the-infamous-cannabis-smuggler/
  37. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11469007
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