Citizen Gangster is a 2011 Canadian biographical drama film directed and written by Nathan Morlando . Scott Speedman stars as Canadian gangster and alleged murderer Edwin Alonzo Boyd .
8-640: The film originally premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival under the title Edwin Boyd , but was retitled Citizen Gangster in general release. A veteran of World War II , Edwin Boyd ( Scott Speedman ) is disillusioned and barely getting by as a Toronto bus driver. With his wife Doreen ( Kelly Reilly ), whom he met in England during the war, and two young children to support, he finds it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Adding to his dissatisfaction, Boyd has deep, unfulfilled dreams of making it as
16-540: A 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes , a review aggregator , based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 5.5 out of 10. Metacritic rated it 56/100 based on 9 reviews. Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star rated it 3/4 stars called it a "carefully crafted, sympathetic examination of Canada's most notorious bank robber". Joe Leydon of Variety called it "generally low-key but sporadically exciting". Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote, " Citizen Gangster
24-408: A fur-coat-wearing, flashy blonde party girl, whose flamboyant facade reveals a woman with past hurts and a deep-seated need for love and attention. The foil to the gang’s mayhem is Detective Rhys, ( William Mapother ). A somber family man who takes his work seriously, Rhys is the face of law enforcement in the movie, constantly on the gang’s trail. Boyd's marriage grows increasingly strained. Despite
32-581: A star in Hollywood, a desire frowned upon by his retired policeman father ( Brian Cox ). In a moment of desperation, Boyd grabs an old pistol, disguises his face with theatrical grease paint, and goes out to rob a bank; this sets off a series of events leading to one of Canada’s most infamous crime sprees. Boyd forms a gang, known as the ' Boyd Gang ', which includes Lenny Jackson ( Kevin Durand ), Ann Roberts ( Melanie Scrofano ), and Val Kozak ( Joseph Cross ). Jackson
40-682: Is a good-looking but passionless affair that remains stubbornly aloof from its audience." Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called it a stylish but overly familiar film whose main draw is Speedman's performance. The film won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. The film garnered three Genie Award nominations at the 2012 Genie Awards : Best Actor (Speedman), Best Supporting Actor (Durand) and Best Supporting Actress (Sullivan). 2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
48-462: Is also a veteran of WWII, and with his muscular build is the picture of a hardened criminal. There is an uneasy relationship between him and Boyd, given the attention lavished on the latter by the media; yet the two of them, both war vets, have a deep, unspoken brotherly bond. Val Kozak (Joseph Cross) is in a similar bind as Boyd, with a young wife and a desperate need to support his family. But he also has an affair with Mary Mitchell (Charlotte Sullivan),
56-512: The fact that Boyd’s initial motivation was a bid to provide for his young family and prove himself as a man, the nature of his lifestyle proves too much for her to handle. Filming began February 17, 2011, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario . Citizen Gangster premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival . IFC Films distributed it in the United States. As of June 2020, the film holds
64-589: Was held in Toronto, Ontario , Canada, between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires , Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening film was From the Sky Down , a documentary film about the band U2 , directed by Davis Guggenheim . Considerable media attention at the time focused on Madonna's behaviour during the festival. TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list, its national critics and festival programmers poll of
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