Gangster No. 1
DIRECTED BY Paul McGuiganSTARRING Malcom MacDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Saffron Burrows
Approximately the 7,988th British mob movie to come out after Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, this film finds underworld kingpin Malcolm MacDowell ruminating on a life of violence and simmering homoeroticism. Like Sexy Beast, it’s part gangster flick and part character study — except the characters aren’t fleshed out enough to give a damn about. What almost saves the day is Paul Bettany — playing MacDowell’s character as a youngster — and David Thewlis’s dandyish turn as a mobster who makes the fatal mistake of caring more about girls than guns.
