Harry Brown

I recently reacquainted myself with Harry Brown which I hadn't seen for 7 or 8 years, to find that the past decade has been kind to it. It seems even better now, than when I first saw it and thought it was pretty good then. Harry Brown represents a fine debut feature film from director Daniel Barber and it is surprising to find he has only directed one other production since.

The story follows Harry Brown, a widowed, Royal Marines veteran who had served and seen plenty of action in Northern Ireland, living on a London housing estate plagued by youth crime. After a violent gang murders his friend, Harry decides to take justice into his own hands.

The story outwardly would seem to follow any number of revenge thriller templates, perhaps most obviously Death Wish. But Harry Brown is one of the most grounded depictions of conflicted vigilantism that I've seen. The set-ups are realistic and the outcomes believable, though undoubtedly exaggerated at times for dramatic emphasis. And make no mistake, this is a suspenseful, dark, but thrilling film, that carries both an emotional and physical punch.

In the title role Sir Michael Caine is sublime and completely in his element as the aged ex-warrior who is seemingly forced into actions that he thought he'd probably left behind decades previous. Imagine a rehabilitated, very senior, Jack Carter, who'd survived the events we saw in Get Carter. That sums up our Harry, who crosses paths with Set. Insp. Alice Frampton, who oozes genuine sympathy and condolences for his losses, but later suspects him of taking the law literally into his own hands. Emily Mortimer is excellent, as the talented detective, genuinely trying to make a difference in some of the worst of London's slum areas. One of the great strengths of the film are the dual storylines of both the protagonist and the police officer who feels a need to keep looking over his shoulder. There are also great turns from Game of Thrones alumni, Liam Cunningham, Iain Glen and David Bradley. Mention must also be made of Ben Drew, better known apparently as a rap singer called Plan B. He manages to personify an inherited evil in his role as gang leader Noel Winters.

Despite not really being an action movie, Harry Brown does feature a couple of quite electrifying set pieces; one involving a visit to a sordid drug den and another being the climactic aftermath to a riot in the housing estate central to the story. As mentioned above, there have been other films like this before, but none quite as believable. Daniel Barber has created a debut film that is maybe not for everyone, but is gripping from start to finish.

The pre main-credit sequence, shot to resemble mobile-phone footage, had the desired effect: the sense of shock from the capacity audience was palpable. The film then slows down to show the reality of Harry Brown's life as a pensioner on a South London high-rise estate . Showing his routine of walking to the hospital to visit his very ill wife, having to walk a long way round to avoid confrontation with an unseen group of youths who use an underpass as their base and his meetings with his old friend and chess partner Lenny in the estate pub. There aren't many other people walking about the estate, even in daylight, out of fear of the gun-carrying teenage gangs.

Michael Caine's performance as Harry Brown is wonderful. His timing is spot-on. Credit to director Daniel Barber for allowing him space to breathe and not be hurried. In fact the overall pacing is excellent. There is good use of the soundtrack with the lack of intrusive music adding to the reality feel of the film. The night scenes are beautifully lit as well with a good balance between just enough to see what's going on and making the lighting realistic: the night scene in the pub with the lights out, for instance.

This film has been compared to 'Death Wish' and 'Gran Torino', but those films haven't got this film's bleak, realistic look at how life is in these areas. There always remains a sense of watching a film, of entertainment, of it being 'Hollywood'. This is a lot more down to earth. This film has more in common with Mike Leigh's TV drama 'Meantime' and with 'Gomorra'.

This isn't an easy 'first-date' film but it is a superior Brit film, one of the best for many years. I'm glad to see that it has got some marketing push behind it and has generated column inches talking about the subject of these 'no-go' areas and society in general.

Shocking and brilliant.

Daniel Barber, so far I have never heard of this director which is normal, this is his first major flick. And what a great movie this is. it's a revenge flick but as real and brutal as it can get. It's funny that I as a horror geek was recommended Harry Brown. But I didn't regret it watching it and I must even say that I got goosebumps by some scene's. And people who know me do know that I can take the goriest pieces without a problem. But again, it is really the reality and the brutality that makes the movie and of course Sir Michael Caine. Admit it, he always has something macabre over him but he's now in his 70's (°1933)and still can deliver the creeps. His acting is surely an Oscar worthy. But also worth mentioning is Sean Harris. he really is believable, in fact all hoodies are believable and of course the language used and the dialect gives it also its reality. This is an all points an excellent movie. Not in Rambo or Arnie style with a lot of shooting but just a straight in your face flick, big thumbs up to the director, Sir Caine and the whole bunch involved.

Despite Emily Mortimer's ever vapid presence, in no way suited to be convincing as a cop. Michael Caine is masterful as always, film gives him an opportunity to show off his incredible range credibly, from fragile pathos and sorrow to hard unrelenting man in the field you do not want to cross. It's hard to take any satisfaction though in the hunting down and brutalising of miserable wretches at the bottom of the have not pile. Well directed scripted and edited. Love seeing Michael Caine always, he's so damned good nuance by nuance it's spooky.

I saw this last night and found it a stirring experience. I believe it although aware it was a movie. I'm close to 70 years old and had to take this on board as such. I believe such areas exist and I find it frightening bordering to paranoia. I often hate undue violence and extreme language in cinema, Yet here I did not mind it because I believed this was real. I did not mention anger above, but it certainly was part of my emotion during viewing anger but also hopelessness and helplessness. That right, not everyone is an ex marine or has the character to go through H.B's motion, but we're all exposed to home violent home invasion or other violent event. Perhaps the chance of this happening may equate to winning the lottery, but the media and the 7th art have a filled day with it. Yet it is real and it's a hard task to know if one should bury one's head in the sand and pretend this does not exist or to think one can look after one's self and be able to stand the heat where ever it is. Just as to evaluate if this side of society should be portrayed with positive result or the reverse. I think thugs will always see themselves as heroes in such movies even if they end up with the bad result. As for others they may want the vigilante side of it with possibly dire consequence. Death Wish (I have not seen, and G.Torrino, I have) are mentioned and compared with in many reviews, yes G T did come to my mind too, although for me it was more entertaining than H. B. as I did not feel it to be continuously real. But here I became part of the experience and forgot I was watching a movie. It is also described as being English portrayal. I don't know if this was intended but I certainly don't believe this scene is exclusively English. I'd be surprised if it's not a western world reality and possibly a wide world situation in large urban population, in other words "a jungle rule world" Law and order are becoming increasingly more complex, with so called human right rules, so police efficiency is also increasingly more challenging as the whole scenario is becoming a game where one competitor has to play by the rule and the other just has to win. And victim relatives and Friends are also at odds with perpetrators relatives and friends. I only read, perhaps a dozen of reviews here about Harry Brown and could see it did impact most reviewers. I do agree it is not a perfect movie, with a perfect balance, but I think it perfectly portrays some sad imperfection of our society. It was so good to see Michael Cain acting once more, as for those young people... this was a piece of work too, I hope they, and we always remember it was acting! If you feel like thought provoking entertainment go for it.