Edwin Boyd

Handsomely shot, with a slick, cold style, this movie plays out like a made for TV production with (slightly) better production values. As a non-Canadian who always sees a lot of Canadian films while attending the Toronto Film Festival, I just couldn't bring myself to care about this lead character. Played by the solid but ultra-bland Scott Speedman (who is looking more and more mature but whose handsomeness is wearing thin), we follow the adventures and travails of a famous Canadian historical personage. But "Bonnie and Clyde" this is not. On the contrary the movie suffers from a lack of zest, a lack of energy. Speedman is nice to look at but he brings no sense of urgency to anything he does. I know it's a stretch, but compare this to Warren Beatty, who was the very definition of a sex icon but who brought a goofy, affable, ever-so-slightly psycho charm to his Clyde Barrow. We get none of that here. Not even close. On the plus side I enjoyed some of the minor characters and for a first film it's reasonably well directed. BUT...and this is a big "but"...there is a deficit of real drama. This genre has been done so well by so many A-list directors and actors that a minor entry into the realm just isn't enough. I'm adding a star because I think this director could have a future but I don't see this film traveling south of its Canadian audience, nor does it deserve to. And truth be told I don't think most Canucks will care either. The film doesn't give them a good enough reason to, and this, above all, is its failing.

Toronto was seemingly a nice and secure town after the World War II, and no or poor security measures in prisons and banks made gangs' ideas and plans easy to fulfill and proceed. Moreover, radios and black-and-white newspapers were not much of help in engaging co-citizens for identification and informing about criminals. Such was the surroundings where Boyd and his fellows lived their life; not as brightly as their U.S. counterparts before and then, which is probably the reason why the depiction is not that catchy and even robberies resemble asking money nicely in the presence of guns... Pre-robbery scenes are too long and only loosely connected with the remaining story, and the ending is rather awkward. The cast is uneven as well, with non-Canadians performing more versatile (Kelly Reilly as Doreen Boyd and Brian Cox as Glover); those presenting the Boyd gang seemed not catchy to me.

Thus, an above-average story based on real events and characters, but not a must-see movie.

For once a Canadian film set in Canada, without an American "name" star and done in a distinctively Canadian style. There's non Hollywood glitz. Indeed most of it is shot in the winter with typical Canadian winter scenes. (Hollywood never does that unless it's a movie about skiing.) Nor are the bad guys glamourized. The Boyd Gang may have been the closest thing we have to Bonnie and Clyde. But they aren't wrapped in tinsel the way B&C were. Nor is there any of the excess gunplay that Hollywood so loves. The entire film is shot in a low saturated colour --- almost black and white --- which, with the many winter scenes, gives it a gritty feel that is altogether appropriate. They also have done a superb job of recreating the late forties and early fifties. The cars, the furniture, the clothing, the interiors are truly representative of the era. I know. We once had a bedroom set and a kitchen table identical to ones in the film. All the more surprising that there are two major goofs...a widescreen movie theatre and a home telephone which looks nothing like the standard black Bell Canada handset that was universal in those days. But those are small points. This is a gripping, graphic, genuine piece of work.

"Your dreams, you made them ours. I believed you. I didn't think it would be like this Eddie." Eddie Boyd (Speedman) is living day to day as a bus driver trying to provide for his family. When a rider boards his bus one day he rethinks his life. With his house facing foreclosure and barely being able to scrape by he goes to a director in hopes of becoming a movie star. When all else fails he resorts to robbing banks. I knew very little about this going in and was actually surprised when I found out that this was a true story. This movie is very very similar to "Public Enemies" in story and pacing. While this was a good movie that is worth watching it is feels very long and drawn out. Speedman does a pretty good job in this as well as most of the other cast. The only real problem I had with this was the same I had with "Public Enemies". I felt it hard to stay focused on it the entire time and was losing interest off and on. This is not a bad movie but be prepared for it. Overall, as close to a remake of "Public Enemies" you can get. Good, but long. I give it a B-.

"Citizen Gangster" from 2011 is an interesting film directed by a first-timer, Nathan Morlando, who also wrote the script. He does an excellent job telling this story.

Set in Canada, Eddie Boyd (Scott Speedman) is a good-looking war hero with a wife (Kelly Reilly) and two children. He's a bus driver, and his wife works as well.

One day, after helping a veteran in a wheelchair onto his bus, Eddie walks away from his job. He heads to Lorne Greene's (yes - the star of Bonanza) acting school seeking film work.

Not having the money for the classes, unable to support his family, and about to lose his home, Eddie decides to become a bank robber. He disguises himself with makeup and successfully robs a number of banks, all the time telling his wife he has acting jobs. He becomes a folk hero and revels in his publicity.

Finally, he is caught and sent to prison. There he meets other inmates Lenny Jackson (Kevin Durand), Willie 'The Clown' Jackson (Brendan Fletcher), and Val Kozak (Joseph Cross) who have a plan to escape, which they do, becoming The Boyd Gang.

Fascinating story, all the more fascinating because it's true. There is actual footage of Loren Greene on the Canadian network's first broadcast talking about the search for Eddie.

Scott Speedman does an excellent job of portraying Eddie - in the beginning, he looks like the '40s-50s actor Guy Madison, very handsome. He definitely captures Eddie's desire for fame and his lack of interest in the consequences on his family, though he claims he's doing it all for them. Well, not really.

Reilly as his long- suffering wife Doreen who can't help but love him is wonderful, as is Brian Cox as Eddie's ex-police officer father, who warned Doreen about his son.

What happens to Eddie later on is amazing - the film covers some of it but by no means all. I suggest the Wikipedia article for some really surprising facts.

A dark film about a post-war dark world. Morlando's first time effort should be applauded.