Citizen Gangster

A True-Life Canadian Caper Featuring The Emergence Of The Notorious Celebrity Criminal Edwin Boyd
Without knowing much about Nathan Morlando's "Citizen Gangster," I imagined it was going to be a mob oriented film. Perhaps the more apt title might have been "Citizen Bankrobber" as the movie charts the story of Edwin Boyd, a dashing criminal who made a name for himself (as notorious as it may be) in postwar Toronto. A family man and veteran struggling to make ends me, Boyd embarked on a series of daring robberies that initiated a massive manhunt. As he proceeded, he became increasingly flamboyant and epitomized the concept of the charming celebrity criminal. He's not painted as a particularly bad man, but the desperation that fuels his early decisions soon gives way to an unequivocal embracing of the spotlight. He starts to believe his own hype, refusing to veer from his new persona. Anyone that watches their fair share of true life crime will find little that is new or revelatory in this classic and oft-told story. But besides feeling a bit familiar, "Citizen Gangster" is a...

True Life Tale of Canada's little known Gangster and Folk Hero.
Originally called `Edwin Boyd' it was renamed `Citizen Gangster' for the American market and simply `Gangster' for the UK market, so identity crisis over, what is it like? Well it purports to be `based' on the true life story of Edwin Boyd who was a vet from World War II. On returning home he finds that far from being a land fit for heroes he is just a face in the crowd and is lucky to have a job driving buses. Then one day he helps a disabled vet both on and off his bus. These are the days when disabled people and especially wheelchair users should be not seen and not heard. At this point something gives and he ups and leaves his job.

Having a wife he brought home from England and two small children he has to bring home the bacon and so he sees if he can get a job acting; but is inevitably turned away. So in a desperate attempt to keep a roof over their heads he takes out his souvenir Lugar pistol, puts on some make up and holds up a bank - only with some panache. What...

A lot like "Public Enemies" in the story, and pacing. Good movie but very long and drawn out but worth seeing. I say B-
"Your dreams, you made them ours. I believed you. I didn't think it would be like this Eddie." Eddie Boyd (Speedman) is living day to day as a bus driver trying to provide for his family. When a rider boards his bus one day he rethinks his life. With his house facing foreclosure and barely being able to scrape by he goes to a director in hopes of becoming a movie star. When all else fails he resorts to robbing banks. I knew very little about this going in and was actually surprised when I found out that this was a true story. This movie is very very similar to "Public Enemies" in story and pacing. While this was a good movie that is worth watching it is feels very long and drawn out. Speedman does a pretty good job in this as well as most of the other cast. The only real problem I had with this was the same I had with "Public Enemies". I felt it hard to stay focused on it the entire time and was losing interest off and on. This is not a bad movie but be prepared for it. Overall, as...

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