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With a fascinating character as its subject, A Very British Gangster makes for entertaining, frightening, and informative viewing.
All Critics (23) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (7)
A Very British Gangster proves yet again that one great asset of film is vicarious participation in crime. Aug 11, 2008 | Full Review…
A Very British Gangster proves yet again that one great asset of film is vicarious participation in crime.
Stanley Kauffmann
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. Jul 18, 2008
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.
Andrew O'Hehir
'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. Jul 18, 2008 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
'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.
Elizabeth Weitzman
A Very British Gangster plays less like a documentary than an E! exposé of lowlife skulduggery. Jul 18, 2008 | Rating: 3/5
A Very British Gangster plays less like a documentary than an E! exposé of lowlife skulduggery.
Jeannette Catsoulis
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. Jul 18, 2008 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
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.
Gary Goldstein
It would have been nice to hear a small something about Noonan's very British victims. Jul 16, 2008 | Full Review…
It would have been nice to hear a small something about Noonan's very British victims.
Julia Wallace
blunt, charged Jul 25, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/5
blunt, charged
Chris Barsanti
MacIntyre's heavy, heavy hand fudges it. Jul 24, 2008 | Full Review…
MacIntyre's heavy, heavy hand fudges it.
David Noh
A fairly inconsistent effort assembled in a slipshod manner that doesn't do much to help one understand where this British gangster is coming from. Jul 20, 2008 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…
A fairly inconsistent effort assembled in a slipshod manner that doesn't do much to help one understand where this British gangster is coming from.
Edward Douglas
It's all eminently watchable, but feels more like the run up to a larky crime picture like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels than a serious documentary. Jul 18, 2008 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
It's all eminently watchable, but feels more like the run up to a larky crime picture like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels than a serious documentary.
Maitland McDonagh
Takes great pains to tart up its mildly intriguing subject matter. Jul 13, 2008 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
Takes great pains to tart up its mildly intriguing subject matter.
Andrew Schenker
Though hard to swallow much of this slanted overview, it goes down easy due to Noonan's charismatic force of personality, however unpleasant. But it's less about insight into the gangsta life, than a glimpse into a thug's action hero fantasy world. Jul 9, 2008 | Full Review…
Though hard to swallow much of this slanted overview, it goes down easy due to Noonan's charismatic force of personality, however unpleasant. But it's less about insight into the gangsta life, than a glimpse into a thug's action hero fantasy world.
Prairie Miller
This lad dosnt seem like a true gangster.
Super Reviewer
[font=Century Gothic]"A Very British Gangster" is an insightful and stylish documentary with a minimum of pontificating about Dominic Noonan who is a very, very bad man, having spent 22 of his 39 years in various jails. And even in prison, he was not behaving himself, as he was one of the leaders of an infamous riot. At this point in time, he is a powerful gangster in Manchester, England where he leads his own gang and is so respected by the local populace that he is often called in to settle disputes which says quite a bit about the state of the local police. In return, the local authorities do their best to put him away for good by taking the Capone/Nixon approach in trying to get him on a small charge which they can prove instead of the larger charges for which there is never any evidence. Despite all of the pressure, Noonan aims to go straight and founds his own security company. In his spare time, he spends time with his two sons who have been adversely affected by his absence as the youth of the city has been adversely affected by his presence. Along with his criminal ties, Noonan is a very complicated man, both a practicing Catholic and gay.[/font]
This is one of the best filmed documentaries I've seen since Winged Migration. The shots here make the film appear as a narrative piece, and the film-maker interjects himself just enough to remind us that this is the "cameras allowed" side of these people's lives. Thoroughly intriguing portrayal of this crime family and of the social and political functioning of Manchester. A film that proves reality is more compelling and creative than fiction. A must see for anyone.
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