Villain is a 1972 movie directed by Michael Tuchner.
WHAT HAPPENS?
A vicious mob boss runs afoul of Scotland Yard after he blackmails a member of Parliament.
ONE LINE REVIEW
Villain is an unsentimental British crime movie that features a brilliantly quirky Richard Burton performance.
THE ACTORS
Richard Burton chews up the screen as the menacing Vic Dakin, a mobster that is equal parts vicious and hopelessly devoted to his aging mother. Burton’s Dakin is surrounded by colorful thugs but owns every scene. He’s witty and stylish but commanding – his great one-liners are often followed by tone-changing, frightening glares. His loving relationship with his mother and complicated sexual encounters with Ian McShane’s Wolfe complete a truly unique gangster character.
Ian McShane leads a fun group of supporting actors. His Wolfe is a coy, debonair pseudo high class pimp entangled in a sexual relationship with Burton’s Dakin. He maintains a power over his girlfriends, loaning them out to snare politicians into manipulative traps. Yet Dakin pummels him after an episode in the bedroom. Nigel Davenport is the sophisticated Inspector Mathews who engages in a cat and mouse chase with Dakin. Numerous thugs round out the cast, including Joss Ackland’s ever-suffering Edgar.
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