A True Gentleman Review: Charming, Emotional, Cliched

In this Netflix Turkish romantic-drama film, a gigolo with a charm that can disarm anyone around him, finds himself giving emotional fulfilment to the rich and lonely women who employ his services. However, when Saygın falls for the innocent Nehir, he begins to think about his own physical and emotional needs that have remained unfulfilled amid the glitz and the glam of his job. Unfortunately, following his passions has its consequences, which result in his delicately constructed life falling apart.

The film has a runtime of 110 minutes and is written by Deniz Madanoğlu.

A True Gentleman Review

Actor Çagatay Ulusoy, who previously wowed us in Kubra, is, without a doubt, a charismatic performer. Playing a godman on a destructive streak, he was memorable and impactful. In A True Gentleman, a raunchy drama film surrounding a gigolo who falls in love, Ulusoy feels like he is right at home. His charisma works in overdrive and he has a mystery surrounding him that the film desperately hinges on. It works in its favour as the film discusses themes of love and loneliness, bringing out a crackling chemistry that makes you yearn to see him more.

The thing about this movie is that it really creeps up on you. The chemistry between Çagatay Ulusoy and Ebru Sahin aside, there’s something about protagonist Saygın that pulls you to him. He is confident and suave on the outside, but there’s a hidden pain behind his eyes that stays with you. He’s constantly conflicted between feelings of what he wants and what he deserves. The actor brings forth these conflicting feelings well, while also discussing the difficulties and risks that come with Saygın and Kado’s occupation. The movie, thus, somehow leaves an impact on you in the end, despite its predictability and cliched plot points.

Saygın’s relationship with Nehir and Serap forms the bulk of the runtime as he gets to know himself more through these challenges. The movie is an exploration of him as a person and is solely focused on Saygın’s journey. There’s also a B plot here surrounding Kado that deals with the loneliness and risks of their profession and I must say that regardless of Ulusoy’s charms, the film feels all over the place sometimes. You might get whiplash from the film trying to go from one thing to another, without really seeing any of it through. The problem also is that Saygın is the only character who is properly fleshed out while the others feel like a way for him to get to his final form.

At almost 2 hours, the movie, thus, feels too long and sometimes meandering. I think a tighter script and a faster pacing would’ve made for a better and more emotional watch which the film sometimes loses out on because it feels so all over the place. There’s some cliched drama that one can figure out from a mile away and the female characters don’t have any layers nor do they have much going on for them. Both Serap and Nehir are such overdone characters that you can’t help but feel sorry for them for being so one-toned.

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However, as I mentioned previously, this is Çagatay Ulusoy’s show and he is extremely good in it. It’s a darker and more seductive tale unlike romantic comedies that we are used to and it tries to showcase its emotions with more nuance. Unfortunately, despite it all, it does fall into the cliched stories that we have watched a million times and falls short of being memorable. I loved the music of the film though and they set the film apart from others for me.

Final Thoughts

A True Gentleman works because of how incredibly sensuous, vulnerable and charming Çagatay Ulusoy is. He’s the star of a movie that will get on your nerves after a while because of its predictability but at least it tries to bring more complicated and mature emotions to the table, leaving us to think about a few things, albeit fleetingly.

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