plot : a young recruit gets plucked out of nowhere by the number one gangster in london and quickly becomes a staple by his side . but this new guy is not like all the others , he's got ambition , he's got goals and he loves everything he sees about being the number one gangster . violence , lots of swearing and betrayals ensue . critique : a very good , serious-minded , unique british gangster flick which misses the " great " mark by way of an annoying voice-over popping up throughout the film and a so-so ending . here's yet another cool crime movie that actually manages to bring something new into the mix . okay , so it's not entirely new , but it's definitely original when all put together as done here . the thing i liked most about this movie was its authentic portrayal of the time period in which it was taking place . it's 1968 and these dudes are looking good ! yes , it's all about the suits , fellas . . . the italian shoes , the cufflinks , the ties and the birds ( that's ladies , for those uninitiated ) hanging around you . here are a bunch of horrible men , gangsters if you will , looking sharp , talking shit and busting heads all over the place . but that's not the basis of this movie . the basis of this film comes in the relationship between the number one gangster in the group , the excellent david thewlis , and one of his cronies , paul bettany , also extremely good in this film , and how the power , sex appeal and coolness of one , affects the other . you know how there are always these " hanger-on " gangster types who latch on to the godfathers , the leaders , the top dogs of every crime organization ? well , most of the time , these dudes are screened beforehand and are loyal to only one person . . . that is , their boss . so all the gangster number one needs to worry about is his enemies on the other side of the fence . but this film brings the betrayals , the messed up loyalties , the honor codes among bad guys into play within the same group and presents it in quite the stylistic package . of course , director paul mcguigan isn't trying to be guy ritchie here , and doesn't over-stylize his presentation , jazz it all up with a hip soundtrack or add any humor to the mix . nope , he goes straight for the serious stuff and develops at least two particular scenes which are still embedded in my mind as i type this . the first is a confrontation sequence between bettany and a man from which he's attempting to sway some information and it is downright nasty ! ( " look into my eyes ! " ) in fact , the last time that i've seen a guy so scared in a movie was john turturro in that forest scene from the coen brothers' miller's crossing . scary shite . but there's an ever better scene than that in this film . this one features bettany , once again , slowly torturing , hacking and beating the living piss out of a rival gangster ( from that man's point-of-view ) , but not before turning on a quaint little tune in the background and removing all of his own expensive clothes , one by one ( that's right , he " does " the guy in his underwear ) . that scene is also in tune with some of the obvious phallic and homoerotic undertones present throughout this film , especially in the relationship between bettany and his boss ( why does he get so upset when he falls in love with that woman ? ) . but the flick's not perfect . in fact , i didn't mind malcolm mcdowell's voice-over narration at first , but as the film grew into a major flashback ( most of the film is presented as such ) , he came in every now and then , and rarely added anything of interest to the plot . all he seemed to do was swear and call people the c-word umpteen times , and even described one scene as it was happening ( " . . . so i opened the door , then went up the lift , etc . . . . " -it's like , yeah , i know that already , i could see it on the screen ! ! overdone . ) . i also didn't quite " buy " the ending of the movie , which despite being original , seemed a little unbelievable , especially when you consider that it's supposed to be taking place 30 years later , and folks still seem to be holding grudges , still in love , still living in the same apartments ? ? ! ? i mean , c'mon . . . it's 30 years , man ! ! i don't know , somehow it didn't work all that well for me . but one of my favorite genres has always been the crime movies , and this one is a decent addition to the lot . forget the lame title and malcolm mcdowell's narration of the obvious plot points , and concentrate on the film's stronger attributes such as its style , the exquisite atmosphere of the time period , its original look at the gangster dynamic within the same group , its memorable sequences and the solid performances from its two main leads , bettany and thewlis . incidentally , unlike a few of the gangster flicks that i mention below , this one is in no way a parody or homage to this genre of films . . . it's the real deal ! note : this film is packed with strong accents all around , which makes it hard to make out some of the words from time to time . it's also quite violent and i don't remember any film that used the c-word as much as this one , so leave the kids at home for this one . . . ; ) where's joblo coming from ? american psycho ( 10/10 ) - a clockwork orange ( 9/10 ) - donnie brasco ( 8/10 ) - fight club ( 10/10 ) - get carter ( 7/10 ) - godfather ( 10/10 ) - godfather ii ( 10/10 ) - goodfellas ( 10/10 ) - lock , stock & two smoking barrels ( 8/10 ) - pulp fiction ( 8/10 ) - reservoir dogs ( 9/10 )
