Synopsis
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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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
Recommendations
- 80
New Times (L.A.)
While you think you're watching just another in a series of British gangster films, you may suddenly realize that you're watching what is, thus far, the year's best horror movie. - 80
Los Angeles Times
Taut, corrosive and compelling, Gangster No. 1 has the galvanic appeal of "Little Caesar" and "Scarface" in its full-sized portrait of a brilliant but twisted and savage criminal. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
A canny, derivative, wildly gruesome portrait of a London sociopath who's the scariest of sadists, in part because he's also a very courtly one. - 75
Portland Oregonian
There's a touch of second-rate playwriting about it that imparts a flattened feel to the end of an otherwise crackerjack picture. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
This conclusion is too pat to be satisfying, but the film has a kind of hard, cold effect. - 70
Film Threat
Works on so many levels that it must be reckoned with. It certainly feels unique, and sets itself apart from most American gangster films in its stark refusal to paint the lead gangster as likable or indeed anything other than the vicious socio-psychopath he is. - 63
New York Daily News
The movie's key asset is young Bettany as a worthy successor to the "Clockwork Orange" tradition of McDowell. With Bettany, a star is born, even if his character is horrific. - 60
TV Guide Magazine
The movie's captivating details are all in the performances, from Foreman's barking-mad Taylor to Thewlis's smoothly sinister Freddie and Bettany/McDowell's hard-eyed gangster, an amoral bottom-feeder with an expedient streak of sadism.
