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Harry Brown (Daniel Barber, 2009) +
I don't venture out to the cinema that often these days, but the prospect of seeing British institution Michael Caine follow in the footsteps of Charles Bronson, and most recently Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) was too good to pass up. Yes we're back in vigilante territory again, with Caine on blistering form as the Harry Brown of the title; a recently widowed pensioner and ex marine, who dishes out his own brand of justice to a gang of hoodies after they murder his best and only friend (played by David Bradley).
Set in and around a nameless London high rise council estate (indeed this could be any inner city ghetto), Harry Brown is a simple tale, given an extra shot of gritty social commentary from relative newcomer Daniel Barber. It's an approach that admirably steers clear of sensationalism in favour of grimy realism, and heart wrenching emotional depth. This is largely thanks to Caine's wonderfully measured performance as a man who once patrolled the Ulster streets, and now lives in the hell hole that is modern inner city Britain whilst mourning the loss of his wife after a long term illness. His only social contact is fellow pensioner Len (Bradly) who meets Harry for games of chess at the local pub. Both reside on the afore mentioned estate, and Len Confides in Harry about living in fear of the local thugs who regularly push dog muck through his letter box, openly deal drugs, and assault passers by in the street. The next day he's dead, leaving Harry completely alone in the world with seemingly nothing to live for, or lose. Predictably the police arrest the culprits but are unable to charge them with anything more than manslaughter because Len had been carrying a knife for protection.
Familiar as Barber's film is, and not without it's problems (the teenage yobs for example, are all portrayed as stereotypical, irredeemable low lifes); Harry Brown still manages to touch upon many of the hard issues plaguing modern Britiain. From the insensitive, dismissive police sergeant who describes delivering bad news to victims of crime as a 'death-o-gram'; to his out of touch superintendent who places more importance on statistics than individual cases. Most notably there's the skunk growing gutter trash who sell Harry the inevitable hand guns, a hoodie who films the murder on his mobile phone, and the repellent irresponsible mother of vicious gang leader Noel (excellently played by Ben Drew). Then there's Harry himself. A vulnerable pensioner living amongst the intimidation and violence of the estate; too scared to take a short cut through the local subway because of the skunk smoking, knife wielding scum who loiter there. Harry regularly uses an inhaler for his emphysema, almost as if Barber wants to reinforce in us a feeling of suffocation at the hands of this decaying modern society.
Elsewhere the film moves at a leisurely pace with Barber clearly taking extra care to flesh out Caine's character and what motivates him to do what he does before the immanent explosion of violence. Unfortunately this comes at the expense of the gang members who despite the authentic performances, never rise above cliche. The estate itself however serves as a satisfyingly authentic backdrop and plays as big a role as any of the cast. From the grubby nicotine stained local pub, to the filthy graffiti daubed walls, and chintzy interiors. Barker's bleak palette is all dull greys, dirty sepias, and grubby yellows, as this is a world of constant gloom and filth. For unlike Clint Eastwood's similar Gran Torino; the humour in Harry Brown is only ever briefly hinted at ('make it work' Caine's inability to operate a mobile phone for example). No the emphasis here is on the hopelessness of a social problem where it seems the only answer is violent retribution. In fact the inevitable revenge is restrained only in it's unglamorous depiction, and plays out in the third act of the film. This is a far cry from Charles Bronson, Robert Ginty, or Zoe Lund's exploits in more notorious genre entries. There's no 'if you're lying...I'll be back' style catchphrase, or flamboyantly gratuitous murders. No. Harry's vengeance is laboured, clumsy, and disappointingly predictable; though well handled by Barker. The nearest anyone will come to cheering and punching the air during this movie, is at Harry's proclamation 'tell me where he is, or I'm going to shoot both your kneecaps off'.
So there you have it. A well made, extremely well acted, but sadly predictable entry into the vigilante/revenge genre. Probably worth it for Caine's performance, and the social commentary alone. Though if you've already seen a glut of these types of movies already; it's unlikely you'll find anything new beyond the UK setting.
I don't venture out to the cinema that often these days, but the prospect of seeing British institution Michael Caine follow in the footsteps of Charles Bronson, and most recently Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) was too good to pass up. Yes we're back in vigilante territory again, with Caine on blistering form as the Harry Brown of the title; a recently widowed pensioner and ex marine, who dishes out his own brand of justice to a gang of hoodies after they murder his best and only friend (played by David Bradley).
Set in and around a nameless London high rise council estate (indeed this could be any inner city ghetto), Harry Brown is a simple tale, given an extra shot of gritty social commentary from relative newcomer Daniel Barber. It's an approach that admirably steers clear of sensationalism in favour of grimy realism, and heart wrenching emotional depth. This is largely thanks to Caine's wonderfully measured performance as a man who once patrolled the Ulster streets, and now lives in the hell hole that is modern inner city Britain whilst mourning the loss of his wife after a long term illness. His only social contact is fellow pensioner Len (Bradly) who meets Harry for games of chess at the local pub. Both reside on the afore mentioned estate, and Len Confides in Harry about living in fear of the local thugs who regularly push dog muck through his letter box, openly deal drugs, and assault passers by in the street. The next day he's dead, leaving Harry completely alone in the world with seemingly nothing to live for, or lose. Predictably the police arrest the culprits but are unable to charge them with anything more than manslaughter because Len had been carrying a knife for protection.
Familiar as Barber's film is, and not without it's problems (the teenage yobs for example, are all portrayed as stereotypical, irredeemable low lifes); Harry Brown still manages to touch upon many of the hard issues plaguing modern Britiain. From the insensitive, dismissive police sergeant who describes delivering bad news to victims of crime as a 'death-o-gram'; to his out of touch superintendent who places more importance on statistics than individual cases. Most notably there's the skunk growing gutter trash who sell Harry the inevitable hand guns, a hoodie who films the murder on his mobile phone, and the repellent irresponsible mother of vicious gang leader Noel (excellently played by Ben Drew). Then there's Harry himself. A vulnerable pensioner living amongst the intimidation and violence of the estate; too scared to take a short cut through the local subway because of the skunk smoking, knife wielding scum who loiter there. Harry regularly uses an inhaler for his emphysema, almost as if Barber wants to reinforce in us a feeling of suffocation at the hands of this decaying modern society.
Elsewhere the film moves at a leisurely pace with Barber clearly taking extra care to flesh out Caine's character and what motivates him to do what he does before the immanent explosion of violence. Unfortunately this comes at the expense of the gang members who despite the authentic performances, never rise above cliche. The estate itself however serves as a satisfyingly authentic backdrop and plays as big a role as any of the cast. From the grubby nicotine stained local pub, to the filthy graffiti daubed walls, and chintzy interiors. Barker's bleak palette is all dull greys, dirty sepias, and grubby yellows, as this is a world of constant gloom and filth. For unlike Clint Eastwood's similar Gran Torino; the humour in Harry Brown is only ever briefly hinted at ('make it work' Caine's inability to operate a mobile phone for example). No the emphasis here is on the hopelessness of a social problem where it seems the only answer is violent retribution. In fact the inevitable revenge is restrained only in it's unglamorous depiction, and plays out in the third act of the film. This is a far cry from Charles Bronson, Robert Ginty, or Zoe Lund's exploits in more notorious genre entries. There's no 'if you're lying...I'll be back' style catchphrase, or flamboyantly gratuitous murders. No. Harry's vengeance is laboured, clumsy, and disappointingly predictable; though well handled by Barker. The nearest anyone will come to cheering and punching the air during this movie, is at Harry's proclamation 'tell me where he is, or I'm going to shoot both your kneecaps off'.
So there you have it. A well made, extremely well acted, but sadly predictable entry into the vigilante/revenge genre. Probably worth it for Caine's performance, and the social commentary alone. Though if you've already seen a glut of these types of movies already; it's unlikely you'll find anything new beyond the UK setting.