This is one of the few Peter Capaldi projects I couldn’t get my hands on back when I was tearing through his filmography ahead of his debut as the Twelfth Doctor. And now that it’s finally popped up for free online…I can see why. This is not a good movie.
Bulla, the titular gangster, has just gotten out of prison. An infamous local legend, Bulla’s release is captured by a documentary film crew, who record his homecoming. Bulla is crass and violent with a hair-trigger temper, but he also cares deeply about his community and goes all out when he learns that his aunt is in danger of losing her pub.
So yeah, it’s a mockumentary-meets-British-gangster-film. To be fair, I’m not very well-versed in British gangster films, so maybe there are some tried-and-true plot beats that are parodied here. But even if I was better acquainted with the genre, I still doubt I’d like this film. The plot is meandering, and most of the humor just relies on being loud and crude. There’s not really anything to interest me here.
What’s more, the film’s go-to move is cheap stereotypes. Bulla, his family, and a number of his associates are Romani (although none of the main actors seem to be,) and while I’m not very familiar with what stereotypes are associated with Romani communities in Britain today, I can feel the lazy ethnic “humor” coming through on the screen. Meanwhile, the film’s de facto antagonist—the cop who put Bulla away—is gay, so we’re given plenty of crass gay jokes as well. Plus, there’s a whole running theme of the gangsters buying and selling men with dwarfism who’ve been “bred” as fighters. These characters, by and large, are treated more like animals than people, and the nondisabled characters place bets on the “m****t fights.” Pretty ugly all around.
Peter Capaldi appears briefly as Bulla’s prison therapist, Peter Van Gellis. As a condition of his release, Bulla is required to continue his anger management sessions with Peter, and from what little we see, it looks like a mixed bag. During an interview, in the middle of casting doubt on Bulla’s ability to control his anger, Peter goes on a tirade about the boom mic being too close to his face, swearing and threatening the boom guy. “Sorry—that’s not for publication, okay?” he says once he calms down. And the one session we see him conducting with Bulla goes downhill on a dime. While helping him unpack some traumatic childhood memories, Peter is a little too emphatic about the possibility of sexual abuse, which leads to Bulla screaming that Peter is accusing his mom of being a “nonce.”
He’s only in a few short scenes, and on the whole, there isn’t much there. Mostly, we get people shouting about anger management therapy.
Accent Watch
Scottish.
Recommend?
In General – Naw. Thin, riddled with stereotypes, and unfunny.
Peter Capaldi – Not necessary. This is a minor role without much for Capaldi to do, and it’s not worth watching this movie just to see his part.
Warnings
Violence (including sexual violence,) language (including racist and ableist insults,) sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug references, thematic elements, gross stereotypical humor, and lots of Romani characters that I’m guessing are played by non-Romani actors.
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