Power is nice for a while. You can get all the women, all the cars, all the trappings of material success and respect that you might want in this world, but where does it leave you? That is the point of this well-scripted, fantastically acted, and excellently directed film.
The occasional psycho might see this as a roadmap to gaining power, but most will see the emptiness which consumes Gangster 55 (played by Malcolm McDowell) as an older man. I saw the emptiness most especially in the opening and closing scenes of the film. In the opening scene, 55 is in his sunset years is with his friends at a high-end club, re-living their younger days. They should be happy and relaxed but instead they seem manic and 55 seems downright bored.
The closing scene features McDowell again, mocking Freddie Mays (David Thewlis) who is humbled from serving 25 years in jail. Freddie is at peace. 55 has been the most powerful man around for quite some time and should take some pleasure in that. However he is miserable and so he baits this now humble man. It's clear 55 is that saddest of creatures - only happy when making someone else sad.
This film to me was about the emptiness of power gained at the barrel of a gun.
Some fantastic acting in this one. Paul Bettany was very good in A Beautiful Mind and he is cold, distant, and terrifying as 55 as a young man. His ambition seems limitless and Bettany makes us believe that there's almost no limit to his capacity for violence. Bettany's coldness and amorality are terrifying. Malcolm McDowell's old gangster is cruel, malevolent, and mean - McDowell seems to relish playing such a despicable character and he does it fantastically. David Thewlis as Freddie Mays really gets to show off his acting chops. What makes Paul Bettany's character admire him is how cool he is. He is cool even after he is released from prison, but along with that, Thewlis gives decency. Thewlis never does more when less will do and he gives a masterclass in understated acting. Saffron Burrows as Karen has a great role in which she plays a no-nonsense waitress with whom Freddie falls irreparably in love. That they remain in love throughout his time in prison is a powerful testament to the power of love and is the counterpoint to the bottomless hatred which emanates from 55.
This truly is a paean to the futility of power. Very bleak but also with a note of redemption in the story of the love of Karen and Freddie. I thought this film was interesting in that it offers a more bracing, detached perspective on the life of the gangster than films such as Goodfellas where the activities are so abhorrent. We see what violence and a hunger for power ultimately gets you - boredom and frustration.
The occasional psycho might see this as a roadmap to gaining power, but most will see the emptiness which consumes Gangster 55 (played by Malcolm McDowell) as an older man. I saw the emptiness most especially in the opening and closing scenes of the film. In the opening scene, 55 is in his sunset years is with his friends at a high-end club, re-living their younger days. They should be happy and relaxed but instead they seem manic and 55 seems downright bored.
The closing scene features McDowell again, mocking Freddie Mays (David Thewlis) who is humbled from serving 25 years in jail. Freddie is at peace. 55 has been the most powerful man around for quite some time and should take some pleasure in that. However he is miserable and so he baits this now humble man. It's clear 55 is that saddest of creatures - only happy when making someone else sad.
This film to me was about the emptiness of power gained at the barrel of a gun.
Some fantastic acting in this one. Paul Bettany was very good in A Beautiful Mind and he is cold, distant, and terrifying as 55 as a young man. His ambition seems limitless and Bettany makes us believe that there's almost no limit to his capacity for violence. Bettany's coldness and amorality are terrifying. Malcolm McDowell's old gangster is cruel, malevolent, and mean - McDowell seems to relish playing such a despicable character and he does it fantastically. David Thewlis as Freddie Mays really gets to show off his acting chops. What makes Paul Bettany's character admire him is how cool he is. He is cool even after he is released from prison, but along with that, Thewlis gives decency. Thewlis never does more when less will do and he gives a masterclass in understated acting. Saffron Burrows as Karen has a great role in which she plays a no-nonsense waitress with whom Freddie falls irreparably in love. That they remain in love throughout his time in prison is a powerful testament to the power of love and is the counterpoint to the bottomless hatred which emanates from 55.
This truly is a paean to the futility of power. Very bleak but also with a note of redemption in the story of the love of Karen and Freddie. I thought this film was interesting in that it offers a more bracing, detached perspective on the life of the gangster than films such as Goodfellas where the activities are so abhorrent. We see what violence and a hunger for power ultimately gets you - boredom and frustration.