A Gangster’s Life — Review
There’s a fun energy at the centre of A Gangster’s Life – a modestly budgeted British crime flick that throws itself headlong into a mash-up of genre influences and oddball ambition. On paper, its tale of two low-level crooks who scam the wrong mob and flee from London to rural Greece sounds like ripe territory for cheeky, dark humour and at times, it nails it.
From the off, the film’s tone careens between gum-shoe caper, slapstick mischief, and sudden bursts of (often unwitting) comedy. There are moments – a grubby hotel escapade here, an awkward interrogation there – that land with real laughter. Not cheap laughs either: genuinely oddball, well-timed bits of physical and situational humour that feel like a wink at the audience. The fact that when Tony is in a suit, he looks a little like Harry Hill at times, unwittingly adds to that.
Performances are solid throughout. Tony Cook’s Ant is the gruff, beleaguered half of the duo, and he carries the film’s weight with an everyman charm. Rina Lipa, in her feature debut as the ruthless Scarlett, gives a stand-out performance as unlike many of the peripheral characters she doesn’t fade into the background.
Jonny Weldon’s Dick, however, is where the script sometimes stumbles. The character feels written as someone much younger, or as if he’s meant to occupy that Lennie-in-Of Mice and Men archetype, yet the performance never fully commits to either. This leaves Dick in a weird dramatic limbo – not quite naïve enough to be tragic, not sharp enough to be comic relief – which throws some of the character dynamics off balance. The intention behind the figure seems clear, but the execution doesn’t quite align with it.
Storytelling is a bit of a mixed bag: atmospherically, the Greece sequences offer sun-bleached contrasts to London’s grime, but narrative logic sometimes feels secondary to tone swings. One key character in the film’s final act utters lines that are hard to understand on first watch, making the ending slightly murky until you’ve had a moment to unpack it. Whether this is a stylistic choice or a byproduct of rough post-sound work is hard to say.
Technical polish isn’t the film’s strong suit. Budgetary limitations show – sound mixing is inconsistent, and a few effects feel undercooked – yet it’s precisely this imperfect texture that lends the film a kinda rogue charm. It’s not slick, but it feels alive.
The social media stalwart “Watch till the end” fits this film as the through-credits bloopers are a treat: the cast clearly had a blast shooting this, cracking up in grim scenes and riffing on the material. These bits underline the film’s underlying spirit – it’s a gang of friends making something fun, even if it’s not always tightly controlled. And the mock trailer for “Macho Alante” – a wild, over-the-top pastiche teased during the credits – is so infectious you’ll find yourself wishing the whole movie had been made in that manic, gleefully absurd style.
A Gangster’s Life isn’t perfect – its uneven pacing, character inconsistencies, and occasionally muddled ending hold it back from being a classic – but it’s weirdly endearing and genuinely funny in parts. There’s a scrappy heart behind its flaws, and while it might take a second watch to fully untangle what’s going on at times, there’s enough charm and confident performance across the board to make it worth your time.
On digital 19 January 2026 from Miracle Media
Watch the trailer:
