Angels of Evil

Rising Italian star Kim Rossi Stuart is the standout in this fast-paced biography of Milanese gangster Renato Vallanzasca, who fancied himself something of a Robin Hood figure in the mid-1970s. A gentleman robber who wouldn't inform on his peers, never wore masks and tried to treat his horrified victims with as much respect as possible, Vallanzasca was nevertheless a killer of cops and, as the film shows, a frequent fugitive from justice. Flashy and accessible, Angels of Evil glosses over Vallanzasca's motivations as well as his bizarre code of honour, and there's perhaps too much to pack into a time span that covers his life up until the 1980s. Stuart's performance is the real draw, however, and his commitment to the role allows us to believe Italy's love/hate relationship with this contradictory man, an outlaw who behaved more like a flamboyant rock 'n' roll star than a criminal. Even - well, especially - when under arrest.