I have a curious relationship with documentaries. I rarely, very rarely, go out of my way to watch them, often actively avoiding them. Yet, I enjoy most of the documentaries I watch….weird. This documentary is a portrait of Dominic Noonan, a British crime lord who seems to run much of Manchester. This movie is an interesting case. On one hand, the subjects are fascinating. On the other, the editing and stylistic choices in the movie are terrible. Just a lot of stylistic nonsense that really pulls you out of the film (especially in the beginning). So it’s a bit uneven.
As for the source material itself: Dominic is an incredibly compelling figure. He walks around playing the whole “crime boss who cares about his community” role but the danger that lies right beneath the surface is clearly evident. Oh, he’s also gay. One particularly chilling moment occurs when the interviewer is speaking with Dominic’s younger associates and he calls them criminals, all the geniality drains out of the 17 year old gangster as they inform the interviewer that they aren’t criminals, in a manner which suggest that there had better not be any further questions on this matter. It’s mildly terrifying. Also, fascinating is the underlying seediness of the whole scene. The houses are decrepit, unfinished, and cramped. Beneath the fancy suits, the gangsters are uncouth thugs with bad skin and rage issues.
Unlike a “documentary” like Religulous, A Very British Gangster actually endeavours to educate you about a subject, also unlike Religulous it doesn’t suck. There are layers upon layers here, from the young hungry gangsters who will eventually supplant Dominic to his neglected/tragic family. I keep using the word fascinating, but it’s probably the most apt term for this film…it’s also available on Netflix Watch Instantly, give it a shot if you’re interested at all, it’s a good movie.
Was this a particularly poorly written review? it felt like it…Sorry.
