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An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Michael Caine: Harry Brown
Michael Caine...a legend and veteran of film, producing, theater and class acting... Essentially he is the Clint Eastwood of England; and this baby Harry Brown is his swan song version of Torino.
Caine's feats and talents cannot be measured merely by Oscar wins or money, but instead in how his East London accent and his honourable integrity convinces us in the flash of an eye that he has indeed been a quiet, foreboding presence. Harry Brown is a wonderful forum to demonstrate this unique skill.
Harry Brown is set on an London estate where the teenage locals run the place not so much with an iron fist but a large collection of guns and a really unreasonable attitude. In the opening minutes; we watch the senseless shooting of a young mother and two hoodies on a moped type bike, are the culprits; but karma soon comes back to them, thus they are slammed into a thousand bloody pieces by a white van which gives us a glimmer of hope because for once we witness a bit of justice; albeit an extreme case of karmic justice. Yes, indeed, this film plays to our prejudices and fears. So much so, that after the piece concluded I wished all estates similar to this one portrayed in the film didn't exist. These little bastards live and breathe, and take advantage of our laws and tolerance; thus shown the police are sometimes powerless to intervene because they are restricted to laws and physical evidence. In fact, Harry Brown shows us a system where an old aged pensioner is actually doing a better job than the police could ever dream of doing.
Harry is a retired Northern Ireland protecting marine; obviously giving him a unique set of skills and combat techniques. His killing instincts were indeed put to rest a long time ago, a decision made when he first met his wife; whom sadly passes away.
However, Harry is forced to kill after his mate Lennie is murdered by the local chief hoodie and his cronies. Cocky and abusive when in a police cell they know that the law in this country is powerless; but thankfully they are the cancer and Harry is the antidote; he is the reaper.
This is a powerful social stab on how the law of this land is run by politicians; how being tolerant has us terrified, petrified and literally tugging our balls off. The director may have placed the odd character here and there with a background of being sexually abused; he obviously wants us to stand up and don a baseball bat, crowbar, handgun etc and take to the streets vigilante mode; with furious anger for those who would poison and destroy his brothers.
Director Daniel Barber and Gary Young's screenplay is a potent mixture. Scenes depict a memorable albeit terrifying drug dealer as Harry tries to purchase a gun, it shows violence possibly in an over the top form. Whereas, Gran Torino didn't have to use any conflict or visual violence to get it's point across Harry Brown never shies away from using gore, blood and a realistic array of grisly violence.
Ironically the message does at times become slightly diluted; as to whether it sympathizes with the people it scrutinizes, criticizes the Police and the gaps in the Law, even a blow to the Irish as the main Hoodies uncle is shown to originate from Ireland which ironically is where Harry fought.
Cinematic wise, this film is as tense as any thriller out there; realistic as any dark alley or rough estate you may unfortunately come across in the UK. Take Harry and his unrealistic situation out of the equation and you are left with a documentary on tenement living. It is brutal, merciless and without remorse.
The real catch as always however, is one Sir Michael Caine, whom churns out yet another breath-takingly emotional performance as the pensioner who decides to take the law into his own hands. He provides the performance of a broken down man whose loneliness simply fuels his uncompromising violence against the criminals who plague his estate. While Emily Mortimer and Ben Drew also pull out strong performances from their closets. Mortimer plays Detective Frampton a rising up and coming woman in the Metropolitan Police force who chose to work on Brown's estate as she wishes to change it for the better without subverting the law, and Drew as Noel, a sadistic killer with no respect for those around him whom will happily inflict ruthless cruelty upon those who get in his way.
While Harry Brown is a competent picture, its formulaic narrative structure doesn't lessen it's impact. Despite some wonderfully shot and tense sequences during the last twenty minutes of the film, the ending of the film has been done before granted and simply regurgitates other inspirations; but it does it so well.
The violence was exhilarating, the performances from Caine and David Bradley sentimentally significant and the direction gritty and representative of today's modern muddled up society, which is there below the surface yet alot of us choose to ignore.
9/10
