it be rare to watch a movie where the maker do not attempt to soften the end and especially if the main character be a utterly repellant a be the eponymous individual of this film play by paul bettany and malcolm mcdowell . bettany play gangster 55 a a young man and malcolm mcdowell fill the role thirty year later . he be as ugly a screen creation a i have see . even in a film like scarface and there be a period where al pacino character be likable a he begin his climb up before the inevitable fall . in this film the director and paul mcguigan and have make no attempt to make gangster 55 even slightly less than loathsome . but despite this he be human and and while some reviewer have be critical of the end and i find it to be credible and almost shakesperean in it intent . whether that make the film guilty of ambition outstrip the limitation of the script and it do not lessen the impact . this film be rivet view and but be warn and the violence be extreme and there be an awful lot of use of the c word . highly recommended .