“He’s more of a blue-collar Bond. [..] a working-class guy. He’s not under any romantic ideas of what it’s like to be a spy, you know? […] like an analog hero in a digital world. He doesn’t have tech, he doesn’t have gadgets, he has ingenuity and a sense of humour.” – Ryan Gosling.
On the show
Today we are talking about the Netflix summer action Blockbuster The Gray Man, 2022 starring Ryan Gosling & Chris Evans. The Costume Designer was Judianna Makovsky whose Filmography includes Lolita, Devil’s Advocate and Avengers Endgame.
I’m joined by Thomas Felix Creighton from FlemingNeverDies on Instagram and we look at the jackets, the brands, the suits, the polos etc.
The below are loose show notes. I will edit these over time. The podcast is available to listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or in the player below.
Who made the jackets for The Gray Man?
JACKET ONE: There are two jackets of note that Gosling wears. He has a black track suit jacket with twin red stripes down the sleeve. Almost like the legs of a spider is bets way I can describe that, and you’ll recognise that as that’s all over the posters. Court Gentry (The Gray Man) steals this after his first mission from a gamer who is oblivious to his presence, And there in sets the tone for most of his wardrobe.
He is a Jack Reacher kind of character that wears clothes as he finds them. He is essentially on the run, from the government, from various nefarious gangs and outfits. This jacket I didn’t manage to nail down I assume it was made in house.
JACKET TWO: is like a grey tracksuit jacket I did manage to track down. You’ll recognise this jacket also as the one he wears during the main action shoot out in Prague. And for this I have to credit a contact whom wish not to be credited. I will call him Steve and his team of Untouchables, he has revealed the jacket as thus:
“It looks like a modified Nike Tennis Heritage Re-Issue acid wash track jacket in black. The Nike logo on the chest was removed and replaced, and two loops near the zipper for the neck drawstrings were removed.”
And you can see the jacket here.
Washed out and horrible
And it’s a horrible jacket. It’s very washed out, used, intentionally. But works perfectly here. He’s not James Bond, yes he wears a suit, in some scenes, and casually, without a shirt, but I think this is a typically American take on a James Bond, government trained agent, but they are conscious to make him more blue collar, as Gosling references himself in a quote. (See top of article).
The Gray Man (2022) Ryan Gosling as Six. Cr. Paul Abell/Netflix © 2022
Who made the suits for The Gray Man?
His Suit, red, suit, burgundy, wine, where he is introduced to Ana de Armas, in fact she remarks on his suit, is by Dzojchen. A luxury menswear brand founded by Chelsea Scott-Blackhall.
In an interview with Esquire she says,
My mother is Singaporean, my father is British. And while I was born and raised in Singapore, there have been many influences beyond Singapore that have played into Dzojchen’s identity.
I messaged Ryan Gosling’s personal stylist Mark Avery to ask if he wanted to come on the show he said he was too busy which is fine. Incidentally he is also credited in the costume department and he has also worked on Tenet coincidentally which might give us this through-line of this suit jacket over short sleeve polo that we are seeing a lot of recently.
What about Chris Evans?
Elsewhere we have Chris Evans in tight polo knits, one of which being from king & Tuckfield, any enthusiasts of menswear will have known that by now. I did reach out to the founder Stacey Wood of whom I have interviewed before and I do own a King & Tuckfield Henley, but she never got back to me. Totally fine, totally understandable the knit you see in the final fight sequence is a King & Tuckfield knit and Chris Evans also wears one from the brand to the premiere.
Thoughts and Review
I think it’s very watchable. It was loud. Lots of people remarking that this is a loud film, lots of gunplay, lots of things getting blown up etc. I watched this with Anastasia on holiday on a laptop in a health spa, which I admit is not the best platform to watch a film of this size. But it’s telling how loud this film is that she leapt reaching for the volume down button during the explosions, then up again for the dialogue, and it was a constant vacillation between the two.
Talky talky, finger nails coming off, Chris Evans being very glib, Ryan Gosling doing his schtick. Which is, if it has to be defined. Someone that looks like he is thinking about something important, and has something quite referential to say, then ultimately, says something glib himself and then just blows a lot of bad guys away.
Which there is nothing at all wrong with, I happen to like watching Ryan Gosling and who doesn’t. But maybe we’re waiting on Ryan to come back with something that has a little more depth. I loved him Blue Valentine, and Place Beyond the Pines, I think he is due a return to something that has a little more weight.
He’s also about to do play Ken in the new Barbie movie, so I doubt we’ll see him offer anything with weight, anytime soon.
Incidentally there is a Ken reference in this movie that I kind of liked. And this is still a very likeable movie. Whilst this is loud, it has great set pieces, it is essentially a bunch of feathers without a pillowcase. There is nothing to hang your hat on. I would never have thought twice about this movie again had I not chosen to review it. Reasons for which I’ll get onto shortly.
One of the interesting thing I read at the top of that was that Chris Evans was initially offered the Ryan Gosling role and he turned it down wanting to play the villain instead. And I can understand why. There really is very little going on beneath the surface of The Gray Man.
But you know, it jumps from city to city, its exotic in places, it certainly zips through at a pace there is no fat on the bone.
Shit from IMDB:
Tenuous Bond Connection
- Final set piece is in Chateau De Chantilly, the same Chateau used in A View to a Kill.
- Ana De Armas is in it, of course she was Paloma in No Time to Die.
- There is a Bond quote, “why 6? 007 was taken.”
- When Lloyd is peeling off the fingernails of Billy Bob Thornton, echoes of the Televised episode of Casino Royale, doesn’t Le Chiffre torture Bond by peeling off his toe nails?
From The Book
Donald Fitzroy first noticed the handsome young man’s suit, this was a local custom in London, identify the tailor and know the man it was a Huntsman, a Savile row shop that sir Donald recognised. And it told Fitzroy much about his guest. Sir Donald was a Norton & Sons man himself. Dapper , but a tad less business-y. Still he appreciated the young man’s style. (Describing Lloyd).
