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An old gangster is advised that Freddie Mays would leave jail after thirty years in prison. His mood changes and he recalls when he was a young punk and who joined Freddie's gang—a man he both envied and ultimately betrayed.
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Character
Grave, bleak, earnest and overwhelming.
- gravecomic
- warmbleak
- earnestironic
- cooloverwhelming
- contemplativerelentless
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“Is Gangster No. 1 emotionally manipulative?”
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“Is the revenge satisfying?”
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“Is Paul Bettany the best thing in Gangster No. 1?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Filipe Manuel Netoon TMDB · Aug 20229/10
**It's not a movie for everyone, it's extremely violent and tense, but it works very well.** It's not easy to make a good gangster movie. Sometimes it feels like they've done everything that could possibly be appealing or challenging, and that each new production is limited to chewing on and revisiting what's already been done by others, usually better. This film, set in London, brings us into a universe of violence and tension, of envy and madness, which is refreshingly dark and appealing, yet not really new. The screenplay follows the criminal path of a British mobster whose name is never revealed and who, due to his brutality and competence, becomes one of the trusted men of Freddy Mays, one of the crime lords in London in the late 60s. However, he is ambitious, and his desire is, in the future, to be like his boss is: brutal, ruthless, but elegant and sober. It's a film where we follow the same character through thirty years of ultraviolence (I'm not using this word randomly, as you'll see) and sheer madness. The cast has several strong names, and the main character is played by two actors: in the older chronologies, it is Paul Bettany, and today, it is the experienced and skil
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Jun 20158/10
Look into my eyes! Gangster No. 1 is directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Johnny Ferguson, Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Malcolm McDowell, Saffron Burrows, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman and Eddie Marsan. Music is by John Dankworth and cinematography by Peter Sova. Gangster 55 (McDowell/Bettany as the younger version) looks back on his brutal life, on how he became a gangster... The British gangster genre of film was gathering apace in 2000. Guy Ritchie's Snatch would wow critics later in the year, while Ben Kingsley's ferocious turn in Sexy Beast (David Scinto and Louis Mellis co-write on that as well) would even get an Oscar nomination, yet Gangster No. 1 is the equal of both films but still doesn't have the acclaim afforded the others - undeservedly so. Predominantly set in the late 60s, with period flavours strong, pic doesn't pull its punches, and yet it is never over gratuitous with the violence and mania (but you do feel it big time) that surrounds Gangster 55 (Bettany brilliantly feral and frightening). It's with the characterisations where McGuigan's film gets its strength, we witness greed, blood lust and the yearning of power vi
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Cast
- Paul BettanyYounger Gangster
- Malcolm McDowellGangster 55
- David ThewlisFreddie Mays
- Jamie ForemanLenny Taylor
- Saffron BurrowsKaren
- Kenneth CranhamTommy
- Eddie MarsanEddie Miller
- Andrew LincolnMaxie King
- Doug AllenMad John
- Razaaq AdotiRoland
Crew
- Paul McGuiganDirector
- Johnny FergusonScreenplay
- Adrian BiddleDirector of Photography
- John DankworthOriginal Music Composer
- Andrew HulmeEditor
- Norma HeymanProducer
- Jonathan CavendishProducer
- Nicky Kentish BarnesProducer
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