"Citizen Gangster" (2011)

Life and Times of Canada's National Bank Robber

"Citizen Gangster" (2011) Review

Who is to say what a celebrity should be? Should a celebrity be an actor, a singer, a politician, or even a bank robber? "Citizen Gangster" (2011), director Nathan Morlando's feature film debut questions what makes a national hero by engaging the viewer in the life and times of Edwin Boyd, who startles the boundary between cultural icon of the poor working class veteran and criminal as he becomes one of the most successful bank robbers in Canadian history.

The story picks up shortly after WWII with a quote at the beginning remaining the viewer that everyone is devastated by war, which would have been a phenomenal aspect of the film if it were to be properly examined. The film briefly references it in a couple scenes where they refer to "combat fatigue" and show a paraplegic soldier, yet this idea is largely forgotten as the film stumbles forward. As the film progresses, the story of Edwin Boyd (Scott Speedman) the bank robber emerges as he turns to bank heists to support wife Doreen (Kelly Reilly) and their two children. From here the plot becomes a bit murkier as major plot details about the development of the Boyd gang as Boyd meets Lenny Jackson (Kevin Durand) in prison and the two form a friendship which, aided by a few other escaped convicts comes to be one of the most sensational gangs in Canadian history (don't laugh, they were a big deal!).The film also struggles to delve into the internal rivalries in the gang or even the basic timeframe within which the gang was at the height of its popularity. All these parts of the story are omitted to cut the time down to a comfortable hour forty minute picture making the film a very easy watch with minimal squirming, yet leaving the story feeling a bit empty and leaving the resounding question, "why do I care?" in the viewer's mind.

The most notable, and visible, aspect of this film's direction is cinematography. With an emphasis on creating very light and almost washed out shots, Morlando's direction seems far too stylized for this picture bearing to mind the question, why? One could make the argument that defining style is better than a traditional film, yet the style seems forced, beautifully showing Boyd's makeup and sometimes creating beautiful views of the snow and wind, yet ultimately leaving the story out in the cold as the images created seem to take prescience over substantive shots. This is almost identical to the Zach Snyder syndrome where a director believes that a weak story can be trumped by amazing visuals (e.g. “Sucker Punch” (2011)), yet the surprising part of the film is that the story could have taken the driver’s seat leading to the question of writing.

With somewhat strong though sometimes tawdry dialogue the film manages to engage the viewer yet not completely draw them into the story or the craze. When watching this film, the viewer should walk out of the theater with enthusiasm for Eddie Boyd, which is not what happened.

Finally, the film, like many a Tim Burton film before it, seemed to just end without any indication that the actual story had ended. With no final summation of his experiences, the film simply stopped, decided that Boyd had changed as a character, and then went to credits. Was there any good point at which the film should have ended? Who’s to say. This seemed symptomatic of a lot of aspects of the film; quick details fired far too fast and without enough emphasis to make them stick that, when the credits begin to role leave the viewer somewhat dazed and confused, feeling as if they have walked through a half read novel and scratching their heads at the end.

Overall, the film was a very fine debut picture with a lot of promise yet sadly a bit too little delivery and character development to make anyone care about the film. This film will most likely not win any major awards, but that’s okay. The film is enjoyable and entertaining, and in the end, how much can a viewer really ask for?

Film not rated by the MPAA

Stars: 7/10