An ex-con finds the criminal life won't leave him alone in firsttime director Philip Barantini's solid Brit gangster entry.
By Dennis Harvey Film Critic A solid Brit gangster film more in the old-school vein of “Get Carter” and “Mona Lisa” than the dog-on-hind-legs Guy Ritchie idiom, “Villain” provides a snug fit for Craig Fairbrass as a convict whose return to society naturally runs smack into familiar trouble.
Title notwithstanding, our protagonist is an upstanding kind of tough guy — but the criminal world isn’t about to let him go straight.
Actor Philip Barantini’s first directorial feature is nothing wildly original in content or style. Still, it punches both elements across with a satisfying low-key confidence, and does not shrink
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