Gangster No.1

I'm sorry, but Malcolm McDowell, an incredibly talented actor, was not enough to save this movie... It starts out pretty well, after a fairly long intro, we get to understand the movie is going to be about a wannabe gangster that dreams of occupying the number 1 spot... Story takes place in England, McDowell tells the story of his young days, when he started to work for Gangster legend Freddie Maze, called "The Butcher of London" if I recall correctly. McDowell's high accent voice gets you into the universe straight away! The actor playing young McDowell (Paul Bettany) is also incredible in his performance... So what's wrong? The movie is too slow-going, it gets you into the mind of this wannabe ganster more than anything else, and as a result you miss out a bit on the world of English crime in the 1960's... The movie has a morale of course, but I don't know if most viewers can stomach the violence that occurs at a certain point during the movie, necessary perhaps, to give credibility to McDowell's character... In essence, McDowell is brilliant, but it is mostly déjà-vu in low-quality... So pass...