Wed 12 Feb 2020
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: VILLAIN (1971).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[9] Comments
VILLAIN. MGM, UK/US, 1971. Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden, Fiona Lewis. Based on the novel The Burden of Proof by James Barlow. Director: Michael Tuchner
Some might find Villain a bit slow. A little too talky. And in some ways, they’d be right. For a gangster movie, Villain does have more than its fair share of quiet moments or social situations in which the main characters are just sitting around talking to one another. But it all has an ultimate purpose; namely, developing a great anti-hero in the form of East End gangster Vic Dakin (Richard Burton).
Burton portrays Dakin as a man torn between his sociopathy and his tenderness. On the one hand, he’s a gentle soul, a caregiver for his aging mother. On the other, he’s a ruthless scoundrel, ever desperate to remain atop the pecking order. Burton disappears into the role, showcasing his talent as one of the finest British actors of his generation. And with that Welsh accent of his, he really stands out. Dakin is a character that you won’t soon forget.
Speaking of unforgettable characters, there’s also Dakin’s underling, Wolfe Lissner (Ian McShane). Lissner is a colorful character, far less violent than Dakin and more self-aware. He’s the guy you go to for illicit things: women, men, drugs, whatever. In the movie, his Jewishness gets mentioned more than once. I am wondering whether in the book this was more fully fleshed out. But he seems to represent those hard-edged Yiddish-speaking gangsters of yesteryear; one suspects that his character was likely based on someone in particular or developed as a composite.
The story? Well, without giving away too much of the plot, let’s just say that Villain is both a character study and a cat-and-mouse police procedural, with a London police inspector close on Dakin’s trail, particularly after a robbery goes awry.
But it’s not really the plot that drives the film so much as Burton’s presence – his very physicality – and the movie’s seedy, criminal, and cynical atmosphere. For if any movie is drenched in the atmosphere of economically stagnating early 1970s London, it is this one. Watching this movie, one feels not just the dampness and the chilly wind on a sunny day in Brighton, but also the general state of the country. Uncertain, plodding along, wishing for better times.
That’s where Dakin comes in. He’s not an angry young man. He’s a furious middle-aged man. One who has made the decision that the only way to get ahead in a society that has offered him less than what he thinks he deserves to is to do it illicitly. He’s raw, tough as nails, filled with pride and bluster, and ultimately the victim of his own hubris and propensity toward brutal violence.
February 12th, 2020 at 2:00 pm
I’ve seen the first few opening moments but beat a hasty retreat; it was a bit too grim-looking for me at the time I encountered it. Some of Burton’s other projects around this same period struck me the same way: ‘Bluebeard’ and ‘Staircase’ for example. I went with Michael Caine instead, more often than not.
February 12th, 2020 at 2:55 pm
For whatever it is worth, Richard Burton managed to remain a bankable star without having significant success, for decades. Including, of course, Villain, which managed to do well in England, but not on the world market.
February 12th, 2020 at 8:05 pm
I believe the only movie I saw Richard Burton in, before CLEOPATRA, was THE ROBE, but I was very young at the time, and I realize now that I barely understood the story, much less know that the actors in it had names. Of all his films, I think I liked THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD the most.
February 12th, 2020 at 9:11 pm
That’s a pick I’m sure many can agree with. I sure second it. I always include TSWCIFTC whenever someone asks for ‘best book-to-movie adaptations’ or ‘movies-which-were-as-good-as-the-book’. It’s pitch-perfect. Uncanny. There’s a fair sprinkling of decent stuff in Burton’s lengthy career –‘Where Eagles Dare’, for instance. I bet we could all push plenty of other tidbits around on our plate–but he takes the role of Alec Leamas and runs away with it. The whole thing could’ve so easily been botched, gone horribly wrong. Difficult material. Instead, Ritt and Burton turned out a diamond.
February 12th, 2020 at 10:28 pm
This is based on the James Barlow novel BURDEN OF PROOF, which spells out more clearly a few of the things only hinted at in the very good film adaptation. Ian McShane’s character has a bit more book time than he gets in the film.
Barlow was best known in England for “predicting” the Profumo scandal in THE HOUR OF MAXIMUM DANGER, which was lucky enough to be released just as the infamous case of treason and sexpionage made the headlines. His other works, many bestsellers, including DANGER and PROOF, are available on Kindle at reasonable prices.
Though not all of his books deal with crime in the same way as BURDEN, that, espionage, or some other criminous activity often are involved. His novels tend to have a strong narrative line, well drawn characters, a strong sexual element (Vic’s perversity in the book), and quite a bit of tension both of the dramatic and the criminal kind.
His best known book here was TERM OF TRIAL which was a film with Laurence Olivier about a teacher accused of sex with a student.
I agree with everyone about Burton’s performance here, his Vic is almost Shakespearian in his monsterous humanity.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:57 am
Among Richard Burton’s better films:
Prince of Players
The Tempest
The V.I.P.s
The Sandpiper
Doctor Faustus
The Comedians
Boom!
There are still many I’ve never seen.
Burton was often at his best with “high brow” material.
Also good: the records made of the stage performance of THE LADY’S NOT FOR BURNING (1950).
He’s a woefully underrated actor.
People are just obsessed with his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor.
I have nothing against Taylor.
But wish people would forget abound the marriage, and just enjoy Burton’s skilled performances.
February 13th, 2020 at 11:34 am
As personal opinions, Mike, your comments are unassailable but they do not reflect reality.
The Prince of Players was an outright failure; poor reviews and box office receipts.
Dr. Faustus, same thing.
The Comedians, was better received, and at least returned investment, but clearly a disappointment to its producers.
Boom was a disaster so big, with lesser lights would have a career killer; as it was, poor reviews and returns were discouraging enough
The only two outright financial successes were The VIP’s, and The Sandpiper; a pair of films that MGM in the fortes would have produced with less pretension, but….they had an audience if not critical approbation.
Now, why did Burton, Taylor do these films? They were paid exorbitant sums, and that goes back to my original point, about managing to be in one lousy film after another and still retain star status.
February 15th, 2020 at 5:32 pm
I see no one has mentioned what I feel are
the other two MUST SEE, top-notch acting jobs by Burton (I also count TSWCIFTC as one of my three), “Night Of the Iguana” (actually ALL the main actors in this were just terrific!) and “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?” a real tour-de-force job by both Burton and Liz! Only problem I have with it is I can only take watching it once a year.
It’s emotionally draining.
February 17th, 2020 at 10:56 am
Paul, You’re absolutely right about “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?†Judy and I saw it in a movie theater together when it first came out, and there’s no better word to describe other than draining. I’ve never been able to see it again.