Gangster No 1 ** (2000, Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Saffron Burrows, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman, Eddie Marsan) – Classic Movie Review 659

A ruthless middle-aged English hoodlum reflects on his life of crime, and how he rose from young hardman in small-time crime in Swinging 60’s London to being boss of the gang.

This repellently bloodsoaked British gangster thriller is slightly redeemed by its stalwart performances by Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman, Eddie Marsan, Saffron Burrows as Karen and, especially, Paul Bettany.

Thewlis plays his mob boss Freddie Mays, the ‘Butcher of Mayfair’, who gave the Gangster his start in life and who is now out of jail after serving a 30-year sentence. His reappearance sparks the flashbacks as the Gangster reflects on his life of crime. Bettany plays McDowell’s younger self, mysteriously called Gangster 55.

Director Paul McGuigan’s 2000 thriller has its admirers, and it could be praised for being dark, stylish and with impressive cinematography by Peter Sova. And John Dankworth’s score is certainly another asset. But the film’s also sadistic, vile and none too convincing. And it’s very static and stagey too, as it’s pretty obviously based on a play intended for the theatre, where it probably would work better.

Johnny Ferguson wrote the screenplay adaptation of the original screenplay by Louis Mellis and David Scinto, loosely based on the life of real-life mobster Frankie Fraser.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 659

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com