Sir Michael Caine (God bless you sir) might be in his seventies but he still can pick a good 'un. In Harry Brown he stars as the title character; a lonely pensioner who's petrified by the armed gangs that terrorise his inner-city housing estate. After tragedy strikes, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands.
This is a classy, low budget, back-to-basics vigilante thriller. Director Daniel Barber channels the style of Bryan Singer with simply composed, long duration, elegant camera shots...allowing the images and the acting to tell the powerful story, rather than flashy editing or wasteful dialogue. It's a testament to the brilliant Caine that he's able to convey the depth of emotion and conflict that burdens Harry. As the aging bad-ass he only has a few scenes with weighty dialogue to play with (the rest being conveyed through an Oscar worthy performance).
The script is just as economic as the direction giving the stripped down feel of Assault on Precinct 13. Despite the low budget, the film score big marks for style with is stark production design and strong cinematography. Emily Mortimer provides a worth counterpoint, as the cop charged with investigating the violence on the estate.
Gripping from start to finish, although uncomfortably kitchen-sink at times, this is THE British film of the year.
1 comment:
Harry Brown was excellent. A tough, stark, brutal urban thriller brilliantly directed by Daniel Barber with a towering central performance by Sir Michael Caine. This is essentially a western played out on a sink estate and it has way more balls than any similar movie I've seen recently. The similar Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood is a good film but it is far more 'nice' in it's over all message and execution. Where Gran Torino would be a stern talking to and a light smack, Harry Brown is a hefty kick to the balls and bayonet in the gut. Brutal and unforgiving. Or Unforgiven to continue the analogy maybe? Anyway, loved this film. It had me gripped from the first few frames with the sequence where Harry goes to get a gun being brillianlty staged and uber-tense. God bless you Sir Michael.
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