Losing a whole 7 inches of height after you betray someone might be written in small letters in the typical Faustian contract. Just guessing. But the staggering height difference between Bettany (who plays the young McDowell) and McDowell really is the least of this film's problems.It is no mere coincidence this pitiful gangster drama came out right in the thick of the Tarantino and Ritchie hype. McGuigan, a shoddy wannabe who later filmed trash such as "Lucky Number Slevin" and "Victor Frankenstein" (who the hell casts that nepotistic nerd from Harry Potter in a lead role?!), must have thought that he too has what it takes to make a thrilling, entertaining, slick, modern gangster flick. He didn't, and he doesn't. Not even close. Already during the casting process McGuigan had shot himself in the foot over and over, condemning the movie to failure. I don't mean Malcolm McDowell. He is just a ruse to get us ("A Clockwork Orange" and "O Lucky Man" fans) to watch this crap. Sure enough, the film starts off with McDowell parading around smugly as a Cockney gangster, but that lasts only a few minutes. He is swiftly REPLACED for the next hour by Paul Bettany as the story shifts to swinging 60s London. I mean, BETTANY! As a "hip" Tarantino-like 60s gangster. You read that right. Bettany snarls and contorts his face the best he can (which isn't saying much), trying desperately to be a convincing thug, but it's like watching a 5 year-old impersonate Superman, or like watching a hamster do a Sid Vicious impression. Thewlis as a suave, charming, elegant crime boss who woos the beautiful Saffron Burrows? No spelling errors here, you read that right. These two are central characters and both were utterly miscast by hiring two soft-ass acting-school Englishmen who look about as threatening as a pair of garden gnomes. McGuigan should have taken lessons from (the old) Scorsese and (90s) Ritchie how to cast gangster films. He should have shown up on Scorsese's doorstep and begged him for a course in 101 Mob Casting. Actually, even the average movie-goer could cast a gangster film better. It's just common sense, something McGuigan severely lacks.However, the worst piece of casting – even worse than Bettany – is the chubby nerd that McGuigan cast as gang-boss Lenny. Nor for a second did I have the feeling I was watching a vicious 60s Cockney gangster. The scene in the bar sort of sealed it for me; at that point I realized that this movie will be just a serious of screw-ups. Lenny's behaviour is something like a cross between the Joker and Jim Carrey: utterly laughable, but not in a ha-ha way. Things get much worse when this idiotically conceived character gets tortured by Bettany, a segment that features the full range of the writer-director's incompetence: stupid camera angles, totally unrealistic torture scenes (with Lenny waving around with an arm long after he should have been stone-cold dead – cut up in at least 100 places), and Lenny TAUNTING his tormentor just before he gets killed! Well, THAT has to be seen to be believed. No sense in me trying to describe the utter inanity of it. As if it weren't bad enough that Bettany simply doesn't have the look of a sadistic gangster – or that he's a mediocre uncharismatic actor at best - his character doesn't make much sense either. His reactions to his boss Thewlis flirting with Burrows are baffling: is he AMAZED that his boss tries to pick a up a "bird"? What exactly annoyed him so much about Saffron or about Thewlis's womanizing is beyond me. It can hardly be a startling revelation for a goon to see his boss mingle with women.The final segment with Thewlis and McDowell is too stupid for words. Overacting, stupid dialog, and McDowell bafflingly almost begging/taunting Thewlis to kill him – even offering him a gun! Absurd and illogical on every conceivable level. Where did McGuigan study human behaviour? On planet Zong? He even has McDowell jumping off a building, which is about as gangstery as the utterly ludicrous Romeo-and-Juliet fairy-tale between crime boss Thewlis and Saffron. Truly, this script was written by a moron – for morons – and I've already mentioned the moron's name often enough for you to know never to watch anything this moron directs or writes.Thewlis comes out of prison after a whopping 32 years. Instead of giving us a REALISTIC revenge ending, the pretentious, utterly clueless McGuigan resorts to a POETIC ending, with McDowell handing Thewlis a gun, asking him to kill him. (A scene that is stupid beyond belief.) McGuigan fails to understand that gangsters cannot and should not be romanticized, and even if they are, give them a modicum of "respect" and portray them as they really are: as simple-minded narcissistic bullies with a penchant for extreme violence. Dividing up the central characters into "good" and "evil" displays an amazing lack of common sense. Wanting us to believe that McDowell sees no purpose in living – just because his former boss Thewlis is out of jail and about to get married with a woman McDowell never had any romantic connection to anyway – does not constitute "psychological drama". It constitutes blatant stupidity; far-fetched, wholly unrealistic characterization which only a clueless, wimpy upper-class film student could come up with.McDowell, who seems to be a fairly intelligent (and very funny) guy, especially for an actor (they tend to be extremely stupid), likes mentioning this film as one of the few he's proud of having done in recent decades. Then again, he also called Rob Zombie a "genius", so we can pretty much ignore any value judgments from him. When Rob Zombie is a genius, then all standards and criteria crumble like a deck of cards.

Paul Mcguigan's Gangster No. 1 is a vicious, savage London crime jaunt that's not for the faint of heart. It rests somewhere between the sassy, hyperactive world of Guy Ritchie, and the moody, paced films of Mike Hodges. It's combines a stylistically nasty, violent aesthetic with snappy, deliberately off kilter dialogue and deadly, serious performances that makes for a film that leaves a stark imprint in both our minds, and the British crime genre. Paul Bettany plays an icy, wickedly ambitious sociopath known only as 55, a fledgling hood who draws the attention of top tier London gangster Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), in the pool halls of east London. Mays takes him under his wing, and before you know it, 55 is his top lieutenant, utilizing his terrifyingly violent, morally blank skill set to advance Mays's criminal empire. He sets his cold gaze higher than that though, and eventually becomes a manipulating devil, moving the chess pieces on both sides to feed his sickening greed and hunger for power. When Mays becomes love struck by stunning lounge singer Karen (radiant Saffron Burrows), 55 sees this as weakness, and the perfect opportunity to strike. Bettany is a clammy, cloying, coiled viper in the role. He uses his silky voice and piercingly unsettling gaze to great effect as the ultimate psycho, and the guy you just don't want as either your friend or your enemy. Malcolm McDowell plays the older version of 55, and is sensational. He shows us a fermented, bitter side of the same coin we see with Bettany, all snarling unpleasantness and pure evil. The two performances alongside each other are just wonderful, and some of my favourite of the crime genre. Thewlis is dapper and slightly more likable, playing a guy who's weary of the game and is looking for any excuse to exit stage right. Burrows provides that intoxicating opportunity. Jamie Forman is loopy fun as an eccentric rival gangster to Mays and 55, and Eddie Marsan is great support as well. This is a British crime thriller with bite, brilliance, and a steadfast desire not to look away from the nastiness that happens behind closed doors and down dark alleys. It's this committed urge to show the violence,

This film is magnificent dripping with the type of evil that Shakespeare excelled at with the film's central antagonist (played by both Malcolm MacDowell and Paul Bettany) reminding me of Iago. Gangster No1 suffers from the deadly sin of Greed, evinced throughout by his lust for power and its material trappings. The title literally refers to the number one gangster of London. It is also the name of the character played by both Paul Bettany (as the young man) and Malcolm MacDowell (as the older man).Plot-wise: a young man (Paul Bettany) brought into a gangster's fold (Freddy Mays, played by David Thewlis) connives to usurp the gangster and replace him become the number one gangster of London. Most of the dialogue of the character Gangster No1 is a narrative spoken by Malcolm MacDowell over scenes in which he is represented by Paul Bettany. MacDowell and Bettany play the same character at different ages because there was concern that Bettany's name alone could not carry the film as lead actor. Whilst this is understandable and MacDowell is good as the aged gangster it is also a mistake both in terms of continuity and because Bettany is better than MacDowell. Bettany is creative in how he portrays the evil psychopathy of Gangster No1. His stares, smiles and screams are frightening and disturbing. MacDowell is more obviously bad and does not quite gel with the more complex Gangster that Bettany plays.The film cleverly suggests much violence whilst showing very little. Much of the menace of the film is conveyed by what is not said in the conversations Gangster No1 has with others. The best example of this occurs when Gangster No1 interrogates Eddie about a meeting he has just had with Freddy May's rival Lenny Taylor. Gangster (Bettany) lays down an axe to which Eddie asks 'what's that?' Gangster tells him it's his 'favourite axe'. No more do we see or hear about the axe but it lies, unseen and unspoken of, for the rest of their conversation during which Gangster No1 interrogates poor Eddie. The film conveys well the corruption that eats away at gangsters like the main antagonist: they lust for power, will do anything to achieve it, eschew love and are internally ugly. This particular gangster is also vain and arrogant with a lust for material wealth to emphasis his power and importance. Like a Shakespearian antagonist these cravings undo him.Hopefully this film will continue to attract new viewers not least because of Paul Bettany's performance, which is superlative and not for nothing drew the attention of other film makers/directors. Bettany is also gorgeous in this too, which plays with the viewer as his character is so ugly.

1968: A ruthless young mobster (a sublimely chilling and mesmerizing performance by Paul Bettany) desperately wants to emulate his mentor Freddie Mays (the excellent David Thewlis), a suave crime kingpin who lords over London. The gangster literally murders his way to the top, betraying Freddie in the process and losing his soul in his fierce quest for power. 30 years later, the older and successful, yet lonely Gangster 55 (an excellent portrayal by Malcom McDowell) awaits the release of Freddie from prison. Director Paul McGuigan, working from a bold and sharp script by Johnny Ferguson, handles the dark and gritty material with tremendous bravura style, relates the arresting story at a snappy pace, laces the whole thing with plenty of wickedly funny black humor, and punctuates the gritty narrative with several jolting outbursts of raw, savage violence. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly fine acting from a first-rate cast: Bettany is genuinely riveting and terrifying as the severely driven and psychotic main character, Thewlis likewise impresses as one smooth operator, McDowell makes the most out of one of his best more recent roles, the ravishing Saffron Burrows exudes pure class as Freddie's brassy singer moll Karen, plus there are nice supporting contributions by Kenneth Cranham as the wise Tommy, Jamie Foreman as hot-headed rival hoodlum Lennie Taylor, Eddie Marsan as sniveling toad Eddie Miller, Andrew Lincoln as vicious hit-man Maxie King, and Doug Allen as the brutish Mad John. This film boasts several memorable set pieces as well: our young gangster questioning a whimpering Eddie about Lennie Taylor, the ferocious murder of Lennie Taylor, and the older gangster's searing big climactic confrontation with Freddie. Peter Sova's dazzling cinematography, the flavorsome evocation of the groovy swinging 60's, the often amazing profane dialogue, John Dankworth's supremely jazzy'n'moody score, the stark, harsh tone, the fantastic golden oldies soundtrack, and a potent central message about the bitter spiritual coast of blind ambition all further add to the sterling quality of this bang-up corker of a crime thriller.