Using a palette that resembles a blood-drained corpse, as if to emphasize its post-World War II setting, “Citizen Gangster” uses atmosphere as a signal of virtue. From the moment we see Edwin “Eddie” Boyd driving a Toronto city bus, we’re well into the dejection of an endless Canadian winter.
The story of Boyd (Scott Speedman), a real-life bank robber who became that country’s answer to our own criminal folk heroes, echoes many film-noir classics — a veteran who can’t adjust to the banality of civilian life turns to crime. Director Nathan Morlando has chosen to approach this material not with witty cynicism, but with quiet, and at times leaden, sincerity.
Eddie is a frustrated actor, loving but inadequate at home, who comes to brash, theatrical life only when he’s thieving. That’s true of the movie, too. It’s always more agreeable to watch bank robbers waving guns than to listen to the womenfolk wailing “What are we going to do?” — despite a fine performance by Kelly Reilly as Eddie’s wife, Doreen.
Doreen’s scenes are meant to highlight the cost to the people surrounding Eddie. But the many efforts to link his psyche to his war experiences never gel, and Eddie remains a wraith, his real emotions as pallid as the film’s colors.