When director Donal MacIntyre tells notorious Manchester crime boss Dominic Noonan that he seems to have a "touch of the lavender," the last response expected is "yes." But Noonan's homosexuality is just one of the many contradictions MacIntyre discovers in Noonan in A Very British Gangster, a documentary that's long on character and short on technique.
MacIntyre, a journalist who's spent a lot of time undercover, hit the jackpot by gaining access to Noonan, who seems to trust the director a great deal. He's a hardened criminal, and MacIntyre mostly succeeds in presenting a nuanced look at his life. It's hard not to admire Noonan's power and standing in his community, but the effect he has on his teenage crew and on his son and godson (a chainsmoking redhead all of 8 years old) is horrific. Noonan may have his knight-in-shining-armor moments, but he's destroying the community he purports to love.
MacIntyre's style evokes Nick Broomfield. He's not shy about inserting himself in the narrative, both with voiceover and by including himself in the shot. At one point, during an interview with Noonan, MacIntyre cuts to a reaction shot of himself, and that's one of many intrusive authorial moments that break the spell of the story. On several occasions, he stages elaborate crane shots, meant to give Noonan's story an epic quality, but the fancy camerawork, so clearly not spontaneous, only raise questions about the genuineness of the rest of the material.
The soundtrack is a big distraction, starting with Dick Dale's "Misirlou," made famous in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, followed by the obvious gangster rap and the use of "Wonderwall" by Oasis to underscore a montage showing Noonan's family. The best musical moments, however, come from Noonan's nephew Sean. "I sing at weddings, funerals, and acquittals," he says. "Mostly acquittals." At the funeral of Noonan's crackhead hitman brother Desmond, Sean gives a rendition of "My Way" that's piercing in its sincerity, breaking through the spectacle and the cameras and the family's pompous bombast to give Noonan a gift he doesn't deserve.
There are so many moments like this in the film, where the characters break through the screen. Too bad MacIntyre's directorial choices leaned towards "Laguna Beach," raising questions about the authenticity of those wonderfully poignant moments.
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January 8, 2008 - 7:36pm
