Gangster No. 1

GANGSTER NO.1 (2002) *** Malcolm McDowell, Paul Bettany, David Thewlis, Saffron Burrows. Bloody good Brit flick about English thugs recalled in flashback by McDowell and portrayed by Bettany (both equally excellent in a teeth-gnashing kind of way) recollecting their bumpy ride to the top and rocky relationship with head kingpin Thewlis getting in the way. Graphically violent yet smartly directed by Paul McGuigan eschewing stylistic violence for violence sake and encapsulating the Mod 60s effectively.

The first thing I notice is the cover-jacket. It is littered with the critic's gushing praise ; ` Diamond-edged performances' spews one filmic muso.

Hmmm...I'm immediately suspicious. Films The Truman Show and Existenz also garnered such critical acclaim yet, suspiciously and unfortunately, seemed to do absolutely nothing for me.

So how does Gangster No.1 fare?

Well, ladies and gents, believe the hype. If Gangster No 1 was a man, it would be diamond geezer.

Gangster No1 is a gem, albeit a very dark one. A brutal black comedy and an ultra-hip crime-flick in one - it's a cockney masterpiece, a genuine Pearly King of a movie.

The year is 1968 and our eponymous hero (we only ever know him as `Gangster') is taken under the wing of Freddie Mays, the quintessential East End gangleader. Though Freddie is young he has already earned himself a chilling moniker, the 'Butcher of Mayfair', and a great wad of cash. Gangster begins working for Freddie, collects debts here, breaks a few legs there, but soon has his eyes on the bigger prize - to be Gangster No.1. To be like Freddie. Soon Gangster is plotting his ascent, murdering fellow gang members and precipitating an internecine gang war on his way up the ladder.

So far, so unoriginal, I hear you say. But what distinguishes Gangster No.1 from its rather lame contemporaries (think Circus and 24 Hours in London) is its razor-sharp dialogue and superb performances. The scene where our gangster confronts a gang member suspected of being in cohoots with a rival is simply electrifying.

Paul Bettany manages to be menacing, piteous and ultra-cool all at once with a frighteningly realistic turn in the title role. David Thewlis too, as Freddie Mays, is faultless. Malcolm McDowell provides a suitably cockney-fied voice over, but later reappearing in person as an older version of our Gangster to provide the motivation behind the insightful denounement.

One slight criticism. The old `end of act-two problem' rears its ugly head at around an hour and fifteen minutes. Yes, the film becomes bogged down rather as Malcolm McDowell goes on a panicky cockney walkabout waiting for Freddie Mays to be released from prison. And when the two finally meet, in what was once Freddie May's luxury 60's pad, the scene isn't quite as explosive as you'd hoped it might be.

Nevertheless, Gangster No1 is an excellent film. A credible gangster flick, a stylish revisiting of the 60's East End, a cracking script, and spot-on dialogue.

Oh and the critics were right, the performances are ` diamond -edged'. Funny that.

Ever since the release of Quentin Tarantino's crime drama 'Pulp Fiction'; it seems as if every other crime drama must reinvent itself. 'Gangster No. 1' falls into that category and while having many flaws, it still manages to capture the audience's attention with its' engaging tale.

This dark, stylish and graphic crime flick is the creation of UK director Paul McGuigan whose past efforts include 'The Acid House' and 'Morality Play'. And while it is crude, vulgar, violent and anti-climactic, it has all the characteristics one seeks for a crime film. The film opens with a stunning sequence in which a terribly miscast Malcolm McDowell retells his rise from a lonely soldier in a Crime Family to the head of the organization.

Paul Bettany plays McDowell's younger self mysteriously called Gangster 55; who does a superb job at capturing the rapturous rage of this young criminal. While working under Freddie Mays; played with an incredible sense of apathy by David Thewlis, we see Bettany/McDowell's character eye his position in this family on a much wider scale.

The film spans itself over 30 years and we see some superb performances from Paul Bettany, David Thewlis and Saffron Burrows. Yet, while the cinematography is stunning, the film's scale inventive and the performances outstanding - Malcolm McDowell is completely miscast. While his body of work displays his range and his acting skills a tremendous attribute, simply put - he was put in this film to sell to markets. Thewlis who also plays Mays thirty years into the future wears make up for his role and does a fine job, while Bettany's older self is played by McDowell and the scenes in which McDowell and Thewlis interact are quite uncomfortable because it simply does not feel right. McDowells' age difference empowers the scene and reminds us we are watching an actor with make-up, and another without - pretending to be the same age.

Furthermore, this film will not please everyone. This is the kind of film that unravels before your very eyes. Yet, the plot reveals itself not by actions but by the characters. In a slow-paced, methodical manner, the film's story unrolls in a manner that some might see as slow and unexciting. Yet, in order to enjoy the film one must immerse himself or herself within the simple plot that is brought to the screen with a touch of elegance with Director McGuigan's stylistic nature and wit.

While the film will not be hailed as one of the definitive gangster classics, it still is a good gangster film. And what could have brought it past the level of simply being a good watch is the disappointing last half-hour where our main character's older self (McDowell) is the focus of the film.

The first hour is told in flashback narrative sequences where McDowell tells of his rise. While the first hour harbors many similarities to other films such as 'American Psycho' (the slow, bloody, torturous deaths) and 'Goodfellas' the soundtrack accompanying the build up to a scene); it is entertaining and a pleasure to watch. Yet, the last half-hour culminates in Malcolm McDowell's present day stance as the notorious leader and his attempt to stay number one. Unfortunately, McDowells' performance pales incomparison to Bettany's and the unfortunate over the top performance by McDowell in a weak third act results in a good film not becoming a great film.

Rating: **

What a mug! The evil-harlequin mask of Malcolm McDowell, so familiar from those bugeyed closeups of him "mounching lumpchiks of toast" in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, has aged into a fabulous ruin. And one of the pleasures of the glib, slick, cocky, brutal, shallow, and terrifically entertaining GANGSTER NO. 1 is in the realization that McDowell is the same McDowell--his voiceover has the same energetic sneer it had 31 years ago in CLOCKWORK. He's the same guy under a withered and weathered facade. As Gangster No. 1--a sociopath with a schoolgirl crush on his boss, spit-shined David Thewlis--McDowell brings you into the succulent pleasures of aged corruption and long-swallowed brutality. No. 1's nuttiness--a kind of belch of guilt, generally released in Francis Bacon-derivative silent screams--seems, for a while, like fun. Paul Bettany, playing Young No. 1, has a great, lizardlike, histrionic deadpan--he keeps telling his victims "Look into my eyes!" as if something scary and deep were hidden there. (Instead, there is zero--an effect Young No. 1 may be unaware of.) The movie takes such a jaunty and directorially piquant view of its own shin-kicking nihilism that you can't help but play along; until the moralizing but utterly earned finale sets you on your ear.

Not deep stuff--not even as deep as the superbly unself-reflective head-smackers who made up GOODFELLAS' crew. But Saffron Burrows, as a Cockney chanteuse who's mad in love with Thewlis' Mr. Big, brings you back to the days of much-posher-and-prettier-than-their-parts British character actresses. (Could Burrows in fact be the Susannah York of the millennium?) And the director, Paul McGuigan, and Bettany keep the joint jumpin'. Why did this get such a crummy release? There's been almost nothing this year as sheerly, undilutedly fun.

I loved this movie soooo much! I was first introduced two thirds into it and I was immediately ready to sit down and watch it at three in the morning staying up till five am. The way it is shot is like pure genius! There is a scene in it that is shot from the perspective of the person being murdered and I mean it is aw inspiring! Seriously if it weren't for the way this movie ended it it would have been a 10 on my voting. Point in fact though the ending isn't horrible it just leaves a little to be desired. NON-SPOILER ALERT about the ending, they use a different person for the main character as the older version, but everyone else plays themselves just with makeup....(Don't get me wrong the guy they got 'Malcolm McDowell' to play as the older gangster is the best narrator and therefore carries the movie, but it's just weird and very hard to over look) Not to mention Paul Bettany who is a genius in this movie as well! My god the man can play psycho! All and all a must watch and a pass on to any friend who is in the mood to see a great flick!!!!!