Villain lives up to its potential as a gritty tough guy crime drama of the British variety, but surprises as an emotionally compelling one as well, led by an in form and locked in Craig Fairbrass.

“Once I’m out, they pull me back in!” That is the immortal line delivered by the legendary Al Pacino in The Godfather III. It speaks to perhaps the most popular trope in all crime movies: the criminal who tries to go straight, but is lured back into the criminal underworld he has sworn to walk away from. The latest movie to use this trope, Villain, does so in a film that has as strong an emotional gut-punch as it does shockingly violent visuals.

Directed by Phil Barantini (his feature film debut), the simply titled Villain stars genre favourite Craig Fairbrass as Eddie Franks, a career criminal who swears to fly straight and narrow after a lengthy prison sentence for armed robbery. His promise to leave his criminal past behind is constantly undercut by his scheming coke-head brother Sean (co-writer George Russo), who owes a massive debt to local gangster Roy Garrett (Robert Glenister) for a drug deal gone bad. Eddie tries to make things right, only to find himself in deep trouble.

Fairbrass delivers upon the expected British gangster stereotype of hard talk and even harder violence. What makes his performance, and indeed Villain as a whole work so well, is Fairbrass’ ability to cut deep with a rather good dramatic turn that raises the stakes at play. Fairbrass plays sad and desperate with as much authority as he does tough and menacing, delivering one of the best turns in his prolific career while doing so.

Great too is George Russo as the drug sniffing mess of a brother; Robert Glenister as a ruthless gangster who spares no quarter towards those who cross him; and Izuka Hoyle as Chloe, the estranged daughter of Eddie, whose contempt for her absentee father is understandable and tragic. The scenes shared between Fairbrass and Hoyle are some of the best in the film, and really nails home the films message that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions.

Marketed as a generic British action thriller, Villain proves to be so much more than that, with characters worth caring about and stakes worth investing in. Barantini has delivered a surprise of a movie here, that should be seen by those who want depth in their British crime movies.