Gangster Number 1

Starring:聽Malcolm McDowell, Paul Bettany, David Thewlis, Saffron Burrows

Directed by: Paul McGuigan
Written by: Johnny Ferguson (screenplay),聽Louis Mellis (original screenplay),聽David Scinto (original screenplay)

Rating:聽R
Length:聽1 hour, 43 minutes
Genre:聽Crime Drama
Release Date:聽2000

A British gangster, played by Malcolm McDowell,聽looks back on his life of when he started being a gangster and how he became the number one gangster. David Thewlis plays the godfather type running the show when the main character starts out. Everyone else is played by the same person in present times and in the 60’s except for McDowell. Maybe he just looks too damn old or something or the guy that plays him when he is younger (Paul Bettany) just doesn’t look old very convincingly.

This was an extremely violent movie. I don’t know if it was trying to be shocking but it was mostly boring violence. You didn’t get caught up in the moment so while I was watching it thought, “Okay you’re beating the crap out of him. What’s next?”

You never really root for the main guy, even in the way that you sometimes root for the bad guy. It also聽seems to be building to something that never happens. I don’t know if the audience is supposed to be in awe of the gangster, but I found him to be pretty pathetic.

Rating: D+