Sundance 2007: A Very British Gangster

A Very British Gangster
Disclaimer: the filmmaker’s cousin, Brian, is a dear friend of mine - but I'd have seen this anyway the topic interests me.
Investigative TV journalist and filmmaker Donal Mac Intyre has made a compelling and very human portrait of Manchester gangster Dominic Noonan.
As an openly gay Catholic, from a working class (on a good day) background, Noonan could be an interesting subject for a documentary. As a mob boss and self described community “social worker” who has spent most of his life in assorted correctional facilities Noonan is a fascinating subject.
He does bad, violent things. But he also supports his two children, his sister and her family, his nephews and godsons and encourages them in their endeavors whether legal or not. He tells horrible stories in a matter of fact way, and is disturbingly likable. His criminal record seems to focus on armed robbery and assault. His late brother, Desmond, was an enforcer and hit man suspected of between 20 and 30 successful hits, though his addiction to crack interfered with his career.
Noonan became a gangster to support his family (it was that or a poorly paid - probably gone now - industrial job) and is very successful, some of his younger associates are in it for the rush. Despite this success he still still lives in and is deeply tied to his working class community. Instead of calling the police with problems, people call Dom. He makes a few calls or knocks on the right door and suddenly the problems are gone.
Stylistically this documentary is beautiful. The music is perfectly apt, the film work and editing are sharp and amazing -- almost a feature feel to parts of it. The people are fascinating and many are likable if you don’t think of what they do for a living. I’m impressed that there is no violence shown in the film.
However...
There’s always an however.
I don’t like how much of Donal Mac Intyre we see in this movie. It is part of the TV style, so it’s the type of work he is used to, but just doesn’t work for me.


Well, I'm caught up through last night's films so I'll see you at the pictures tonight.