Well, folks, what can I say about “By the Gun”? It’s an odd little gem that landed in my lap when I least expected it—as if someone found it behind the dusty VHS shelf in a forsaken småstad library! The film rolls in with a classic mobster feel, sort of like a poor man’s Scorsese piece. We’re talking family loyalty, betrayal, those aged leather jackets, and a heck of a lot of Italian-American tension. Nostalgia? Nah, more deja vu.

Let’s talk characters. Nick Tortano, our wannabe gangster, has a face you recognise, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. That familiar feeling, like when you run into your gamla granne på Konsum. Ben Barnes plays him, and does a pretty decent job of making you root for him initially, but honestly, sometimes the line between sympathetic and just plain dumb gets blurry, ya know?

One thing I must admit, the soundtracks had me time-traveling back a few years, bobbing my head without noticing. It’s like finding an LP you forgot you loved. And some moments land you right there, in the bustling, gun-popping Boston streets – vivid enough, you almost smell the burnt rubber and testosterone.

There was this scene with Nick and his dad, sitting at a table in a dimly-lit room—it took me back to a Sunday middag at mormor’s, minus the gun talks, of course. But that sense of unsaid tension, it was electric. It got me thinking… how far would someone go to make their dreams come true?

But wait, is this flick groundbreaking? Not really. It hits predictable beats like a classic ABBA song. Yet, maybe now and then, predictable ain’t so bad. It does leave you with something to chew on, if you’re in the mood for a reflective undertone. My advice? Watch it with a mate, grab some snacks, maybe even debate Swedish fika norms versus Italian espresso culture afterwards.

Curious now? Have a look at the trailer: By the Gun.