Paul Mcguigan's Gangster No. 1 is a vicious, savage London crime jaunt that's not for the faint of heart. It rests somewhere between the sassy, hyperactive world of Guy Ritchie, and the moody, paced films of Mike Hodges. It's combines a stylistically nasty, violent aesthetic with snappy, deliberately off kilter dialogue and deadly, serious performances that makes for a film that leaves a stark imprint in both our minds, and the British crime genre. Paul Bettany plays an icy, wickedly ambitious sociopath known only as 55, a fledgling hood who draws the attention of top tier London gangster Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), in the pool halls of east London. Mays takes him under his wing, and before you know it, 55 is his top lieutenant, utilizing his terrifyingly violent, morally blank skill set to advance Mays's criminal empire. He sets his cold gaze higher than that though, and eventually becomes a manipulating devil, moving the chess pieces on both sides to feed his sickening greed and hunger for power. When Mays becomes love struck by stunning lounge singer Karen (radiant Saffron Burrows), 55 sees this as weakness, and the perfect opportunity to strike. Bettany is a clammy, cloying, coiled viper in the role. He uses his silky voice and piercingly unsettling gaze to great effect as the ultimate psycho, and the guy you just don't want as either your friend or your enemy. Malcolm McDowell plays the older version of 55, and is sensational. He shows us a fermented, bitter side of the same coin we see with Bettany, all snarling unpleasantness and pure evil. The two performances alongside each other are just wonderful, and some of my favourite of the crime genre. Thewlis is dapper and slightly more likable, playing a guy who's weary of the game and is looking for any excuse to exit stage right. Burrows provides that intoxicating opportunity. Jamie Forman is loopy fun as an eccentric rival gangster to Mays and 55, and Eddie Marsan is great support as well. This is a British crime thriller with bite, brilliance, and a steadfast desire not to look away from the nastiness that happens behind closed doors and down dark alleys. It's this committed urge to show the violence,
Review of Gangster No. 1
