Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Harry Brown
The Old Crown And The Child
Criminal In London Town
Michael Caine in the title role of the film "Harry Brown", directed by Daniel
Barber. Samuel Goldwyn Films
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Allo, allo! What 'ave we 'ere then? Old geezer comes rounda pub.
Sez 'e dun' like the way things are goin' with these bleedin' little chipmunks
runnin' the estates, see? Ponces and wankers with knees up in the breeze
thinking they're King of England. Cheeky buggers. I'll show 'em a
bloody king of England. I'll show 'em...
That's not what Harry Brown (Michael Caine) says in "Harry Brown", but it may be
what he's thinking as he silently trudges through each day in a decaying London.
Like Walt Kowalsky, Harry Brown has little left in life. An ex-Marine who
has seen more than anyone should, Harry has a good friend to drink with, and an
ailing wife battling to stay alive.
Day after day, a subway (walkway tunnel) adjacent to a busy street presents a
challenge for Harry. He wants to venture through it but even in broad
daylight, with troublemaking youth bent on harassment and far worse random
violence, he passes up the daunting opportunity.
Highly stylized in some areas, thin in a number of others, "Harry Brown", a
Matthew Vaughn-produced drama directed by Daniel Barber, is a replica of any
number of vigilante movies like "Death Wish". A litany of films exist in
which senior or middle-aged men turn their fear and anger on an indifferent
society or a bunch of young ne'er-do-wells, most recently
"Gran Torino" (2008). There's "Falling
Down" (1993) and "187" (1997) as ready examples of this genre.
Here, Mr. Caine gives a vulnerable, effective performance as Harry, a loner
trying to find a reason to face the world beyond his door as crime in 21st
century London reaches a fever pitch. He's a palpable presence. We
embody his fears. We wonder if the brutal crime spree will cease.
Politicians won't do anything. The police haven't seriously looked at
stemming the tide. Two detectives, one of them Detective Inspector Alice
Frampton (Emily Mortimer) try to do what they can.
"Harry Brown" marks Mr. Barber's feature film-directing debut. The
atmosphere evoked in and around London's working-class council housing estates
is Inferno-like, thanks largely to impressive production design by Kave Quinn.
The screenplay by Gary Young works up to a point, showing Harry in a society
that has passed him by like a ship sailing past a long-forgotten ancient relic.
A subplot involving a mild feud and a secondary investigation adds little to the
narrative. It is here where Mr. Young's script tries on too much when it's
already fully dressed. There's a riot sequence reminiscent of
the Broadwater Farm council estate uprising in Tottenham, North London in 1985
and it's staged brilliantly.
Thanks to a notable event the film descends in a spiral of hopelessness and
ridicule reminiscent of Joel Schumacher's "8MM" and doesn't leave. Martin
Ruhe's cinematography is arresting in these moments but the abrupt tonal shift
-- to dank, bleak and infernal -- permeates the movie theater. "Harry
Brown", a tense, grimy, gripping experience, is great at creating fear and dread
but like the violence that ensues, little is left accounted for.
Note: this film, which is rather violent, is being shown in Plano, Texas on May
27 as a
"Crybaby Matinee - Babies Welcome" special. Gordon Bennett!
With: Ben Drew, Charlie Creed-Miles, David Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Iain Glen,
Sean Harris, Jamie Downey, Lee Oakes, Joseph Gilgum, Liz Daniels.
"Harry Brown" is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for strong violence and language throughout, drug use and
sexual content. There's aberrant conduct featured in one scene.
The film's duration is one hour and 43 minutes.
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