A Very British Gangster proves yet again that one great asset of film is vicarious participation in crime.
A Very British Gangster (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:8
Fresh:7
Rotten:1
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: With a fascinating character as its subject, A Very British Gangster makes for entertaining, frightening, and informative viewing.
Theatrical Release:Jul 18, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: The British gangster genre has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years with films like Sexy Beast; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; and Layer Cake (all of which screened at Sundance). However, as... The British gangster genre has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years with films like Sexy Beast; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; and Layer Cake (all of which screened at Sundance). However, as cool and stylized as these films and their characters are,…there ain't nothing like the real thing. A Very British Gangster is a potently charged documentary about one of Britain's most dangerous crime families and introduces us to its magnetic, larger-than-life leader. The film follows the trials and tribulations of Dominic Noonan (aka Lattlay Fottfoy) as he lurches from criminal trial to trial while serving as the patriarch of an entire community, which he protects with his own brand of justice and security. He is both a gangland enforcer and a neighborhood fixer. The world that the film reveals is a disturbing one, full of lost innocence and lives, but the people who inhabit it are welded together through loyalty and love. Rarely does a film of this kind maintain such a steadfastly objective gaze. Director Donal Mac Intyre utilizes the unprecedented access given him by Noonan and his family, complemented by a rocking soundtrack and deft editing, to craft a riveting portrait of an exceedingly charming gangster who both lives up to and shatters the usual stereotypes. -- © Sundance Film Festival. [More]
Director: Donal MacIntyre
Director: Donal MacIntyre
Studio: Anywhere Road
Reviews for A Very British Gangster
Investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre's film is fairly standard British TV product, closer to a glorified 60 Minutes segment then to cinematic art. But never mind -- its subject is, as he might say, feckin' amazing.
'Manchester is where I was born, where I live, and where I'll die,' announces Dominic Noonan at the start of Donal MacIntyre's gripping documentary.
A Very British Gangster plays less like a documentary than an E! exposé of lowlife skulduggery.
If Tony Soprano had a cheekier, less haunted, openly gay British counterpart, it would be Dominic Noonan, the Manchester crime boss profiled in the stylish and compelling A Very British Gangster.
It would have been nice to hear a small something about Noonan's very British victims.
The film is beautifully shot by Mike Turnbull and Nick Manley, including a moody black and white scene in the cemetery and a lovely crane shot looking out at the doomed neighborhood.
A Very British Gangster is a very watchable movie, one that explores an oft-exploited mob milieu and busts some of its fictional bubbles. These are troubling people, to be sure, but MacIntyre makes them human, as well as frightening.
Latest News for A Very British Gangster
August 30, 2008:
Iconoclast.com: Though hard to swallow this slanted overview, it goes down easy due to Noonan's charismatic force of personality, however unpleasant. But it's less about insight into gangsta life, than a glimpse into a thug's action hero fantasy world. ![]()
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August 26, 2008:
AnywhereRoad.com: Though hard to swallow this slanted overview, it goes down easy due to Noonan's charismatic force of personality, however unpleasant. But it's less about insight into gangsta life, than a glimpse into a thug's action hero fantasy world. ![]()
More...
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