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I'm still thinking about Gangster No. 1's final images weeks after viewing the film--they're startlingly unromantic, even for the British crime genre. While director Paul McGuigan's self-conscious style and unflinching attitude towards violence invited him unimaginative comparisons to Guy Ritchie upon Gangster No. 1's release (Peter Medak, especially the Peter Medak of The Krays, is a better analogue), there's a crucial difference between their points of view: McGuigan approaches the criminal lifestyle with pathos; Ritchie sees only the potential for comedic humiliation in a crook.

Paul Bettany stars as the right-hand man without a name to Freddie "The Butcher of Mayfair" Mays (Naked's David Thewlis--where ya been?). A sleek, efficient terminator who knows that no matter how good he is at his job, he'll never in the position of henchman command the respect that his boss does, Gangster No. 1 gloms onto Freddie's possessions (and his girlfriend (an unrecognizable Saffron Burrows)) in a hopeless effort to usurp his power. Although Shakespearian convolutions eventually entitle him to Freddie's throne, he lacks political charisma, and thus fails to inspire the coveted trust and loyalty of his associates.

Gangster No. 1 is played for the first two thirds by Bettany in a nearly wordless performance that's 180 degrees from his star-making turn in A Knight's Tale: alternately vulnerable and fierce, he's Frankenstein's mobster; Bettany does this great contortion of his jaw every time the character's about to commit murder--it's as though he's dislodging his soul from its socket. Malcolm McDowell takes over the role for the prologue and extended epilogue, and instead of affecting Bettany's detached stare, he makes the interesting choice to portray Gangster No.1 in hysteria. Call it end-life crisis. McDowell's hammy delivery is irritating but important: it wipes out any trace of Bettany's cool, adding a third dimension to not only the character, but also our loathing of him.

Gangster No. 1 is about a man with so little style that his monumental shift in personality, underscored by a dramatic physical transformation (the rest of the cast merely dons old-age make-up), provokes a massive shrug from the returning Freddie, who kind of sighs that in thirty years, his former muscle didn't redecorate the pad he inherited from Freddie. McGuigan's single-minded film sputters in the middle--it's not that the second act is flabby, it's that Gangster No. 1 doesn't need a second act. Nor do we greet McDowell's narration with open arms: it ultimately insults Bettany by implying that his strong, silent gestures aren't doing the trick. And the picture doesn't look great, the lighting is flat and dismal. As a movie, then, Gangster No. 1 is bunglesome, but as a feature-length lament, it's bold and resonant.

TVA/Columbia Tri-Star's Canadian DVD release of Gangster No. 1 is good. The film is presented in a satisfactory 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Its perceived flaws--soft detail, muted colours--are more indicative of artistic choices in the low-budget cinematography. A Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is relatively active, with deep bass intensifying Bettany's moments of rage. Extras include an honest screen-specific commentary track with McGuigan, whose thick brogue necessitates a close listen; an informal 9-minute making-of in which a smoking Bettany reveals an off-screen reticence and McDowell is caught off-guard by the intrusion of McGuigan during his interview; two deleted scenes, the first a gorier version of a torture sequence (with optional McGuigan commentary); thoughtful cast and crew bios; and trailers for Brotherhood of the Wolf, Mulholland Drive, Century Hotel, Suspicious River, and Ginger Snaps. Note the clever cover art: those four men are all Bettany upon inspection.-Bill Chambers