tommivercetti-1 In my personal opinion this title is an excellent overview of Manchester life, as the title says 'A very British Gangster' which anyone living in Manchester will know fully the reputation the Noonans have. (unlike some of the comments made about them i.e 'Clownish Baffoons'???!!!) Desmond's link to major cities across the country made the Noonan's unique, the fact he had the audacity to start dealing with Gangsters from other cities in the UK made them unstoppable. The documentary also portrays Manchester correctly which in some areas is very poor and slum likeAn excellent Film/documentary on life in Manchester, which perhaps doesn't show the full extent of what they are actually capable of !!!!

udar55 An crazy look at Dominic Noonan, heir apparent of gang family in modern day Manchester, England. Noonan is a brutish looking individual who wields a lot of power on pure tradition, which makes this profile all the more interesting when it is said that Noonan is openly gay. Compared to US gangsters, Noonan and his crew of (mostly) teenagers might seem like the Spinal Tap of the underworld as they drive around and settle little squabbles. But I think helmer Donal MacIntyre is intentionally going soft on Noonan here as he tends to overlook Noonan's shady investments and downplay his crimes (including a torture attack that sounds particularly vicious). The crew is "lucky" enough to have Noonan's older brother (and reputed hit-man) get murdered while they were in production so they get to cover that as well. This also works as a nice way to compare the US vs. UK legal system as the documentary claims Noonan has been convicted of more than 20 armed robberies (including a hilarious jail bust in order to do robberies), yet still he is let out of prison.

acrotty Manchester is his own. Dominic Noonan is represented as the "owner" of Manchester in this convincing documentary. It is everything but Hollwood, as thats what it's not to be. He portrays the stereotypical British criminal, although in his sidekicks' own words "I wouldn't say we are criminals." 'A Very British Gangster' says everything that is needed to be known. Very British, very stereotypical British gangster like. Suited up, no matter how cheap they look, their gold chains and rings and just a simple run through of Dominic Noonan's life, exploiting all his plus and negatives, even if you find them all negative, they are all very interesting to find out about.Recommend, in the eyes of a Media Studies Student.

homer_76179 Overly long and without much unifying message, A Very British Gangster will surely leave many scratching their heads. Americans usually have a entirely different view of what a "British Gangster" would be. These guys seem to be minor characters in a Guy Ritchie movie. Rather than wearing three piece suits and driving expensive cars, the Noonan family make their living exploiting the down trodden members of Manchester in their cheap clothes and fake gold jewelry.We really don't get to see the true underbelly of what life is like as a gangster in Manchester. The gang spends its time posing on street corners, making idle threats and generally looking like a bunch of kids trying to emulate the real deal. But we do get a sense that there is much more below the surface. We never meet the real gangsters we expect to find but they seem to lurk in the corners the film doesn't explore. The Noonans seem to be putting on a show for the cameras, allowing only their teenage goons to be on camera and their operations limited to settling disputes between the locals. Dominic claims to have stolen millions of dollars, but the whole gang is still stuck in near poverty, living in small flats and proud of their meager possessions.This movie is less a study on a British crime boss and more a look at the gritty reality of the poor urban centers of Britain. Places where small time crooks can still make money on petty crimes and instilling fear in the local community. The Noonans are playing a game that is getting increasingly harder to win at. Many of the kids have dreams to do something different with their lives. One wants to be an actor, another a singer, another just to escape Manchester. Unfortunately, the sad truth is most of the gang, including Noonan's son and God Son, are spiraling down the gutter without any hope or guidance that could help them become anything more than small times thieves; destined to spend most of their adult lives behind bars.