Gangster No. 1
(2000)
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When a young gangster (Paul Bettany) starts working for gang leader Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), known as the Butcher of Mayfair, he dreams of being everything that Freddie is: smooth, sophisticated, impeccably dressed, always with the right women, and driving the fanciest cars. Freddie takes the young gangster (unnamed in the film but listed as Gangster 55 in the credits) under his wing as a potential war with a rival gang starts to heat up. After Freddie falls for Karen (Saffron Burrows), whom 55 had his eye on, the young gangster lies in wait for an opportunity to change things, and when that moment comes, he leaves a bloodbath of betrayal in his wake. |
Following in the wake of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, this thriller from Paul McGuigan is another tale of London gangsters, though this time without the humour. As studies of pure evil go, however, it's very convincing. Malcolm McDowell plays a crimelord who, concerned that a mob boss he once double-crossed is about to be released from prison, looks back on the 1960s antics of his gang. Flashbacks show him played by the impressive Paul Bettany, whose psychotic behaviour leads to much blood-letting. This central section is stylistically superb, but the film is fatally flawed by the fact that both boss David Thewlis and his moll (Saffron Burrows) are badly aged for the final section. The gratuitous violence and profanity also leave a very nasty taste in the mouth.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Effective thriller that catches the sleazy glamour of the period, with its conjunction of showbusiness and crime, but then declines into less convincing melodrama.