Citizen Gangster

Released Apr 27, 2012

1h 45m

Biography

Crime

Drama

List

56%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Unable to support his family on a bus driver's salary, World War II veteran Edwin Boyd finds a way to combine his love of acting and his need for money by robbing banks.

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Audience Member

True tale of Eddie (Speedman) - WWII vet and family man that gets fed up with being poor. He dons some dark makeup and starts robbing banks. But once in jail, his associations get darker and the tale turns tragedy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Serge L

Canadian film about canadian story. This is usually TV movie quality, but pretty good feel of the epoch. Good acting. Good locations. Feel of reality. A good story full of lessons. The biggest suckers are the gangsters.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/14/17

Full Review

Audience Member

Average film that I struggled to engage with and follow probably due to my mental state rather than the film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's been interesting for a while at the beginning. But then.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Based on a true story, the tale of Toronto's most famous bank robber isn't as exciting on film as it is in the history books. The bank heists are exciting and stylish, but there's too much drama and not enough cool, noir gangster moments.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very well made period piece of Toronto's most Famous Bank Robber. What's different about this movie as opposed to most gangster films is that it doesn't glorify the lifestyle of a criminal. It takes a very human and real world approach to it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Nathan Morlando

Director

Scott Speedman

Edwin Boyd

Kelly Reilly

Doreen Boyd

Kevin Durand

Lenny Jackson

Joseph Cross

Val Kozak

William Mapother

Detective Rhys

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Inspired by Boyd's story, rather than literally retelling it, the movie is less a gangster film than an existential allegory of choices and limitations.

Rated: 3/4

May 11, 2012

Full Review

Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

Morlando has crafted a stylishly shot and evocatively designed period piece. But it's the dashing, quietly charismatic Speedman who proves the main draw, holding our attention even when the movie doesn't.

Rated: 3/5

May 3, 2012

Full Review

Farran Smith Nehme

New York Post

Morlando has chosen to approach this material not with witty cynicism, but with quiet, and at times leaden, sincerity.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 27, 2012

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Although a period piece, Citizen Gangster's potshots at the banks ... its concern with the fate of war veterans, its unsympathetic attitude toward authority, all this speaks to the present-day and present realities in Canada.

Feb 12, 2021

Full Review

Shelagh Rowan-Legg

That Shelf

Speedman continues to grow as an actor.

May 14, 2018

Full Review

Paul Chambers

Movie Chambers

"Citizen Gangster" is not exactly riveting. Speedman does the best he can in the title role. He gives his character life even as the sub par script drags us along.

Rated: C

Oct 2, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

Unable to support his family on a bus driver's salary, World War II veteran Edwin Boyd finds a way to combine his love of acting and his need for money by robbing banks.

Director: Nathan Morlando
Producer: Kirk D'Amico, Daniel Iron
Screenwriter: Nathan Morlando
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: IFC Films
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $625
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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