Film Review – Harry Brown

Michael Caine goes back to his roots in this quite authentic but somewhat one-sided film about life on the inner-city streets of London.

The film opens with a scene involving a gang of youths taking part in some kind of initiation ceremony with drugs and guns and immediately we are exposed to the violent and dark subculture of the urban council estate. This opening sequence is filmed in a documentary style and violence is instantly unleashed as the film gets off to a rapid and hard-hitting start.

Michael Caine’s serene introductory scene slows things down somewhat, providing a welcome contrast to the anarchy of before. As he wakes up, he takes a blast from his inhaler and we see a collection of prescription drugs arranged on the bedside table. This perhaps highlights an aspect of the generation gap the whole film goes on to underline: that nowadays, drugs for young people have a completely different use.

From the off, Michael Caine portrays Harry with profound sadness. An ex-Marine, his life over the past few years seems to have been full of pain and tragedy. We learn that his daughter has passed a while ago and the eventual death of his wife early on in the film renders him quite a lonely man. His only friend Len brings up a subject that Harry seems reluctant to talk about - his past military life. “Did you ever kill anyone?” enquires Len. Harry’s swift and somewhat affronted response of “You can’t ask me that, Len” suggests there is a darker side of him that we are yet to learn about.

All the previous heartache that Harry has had to wade through is then compounded, when the police arrive at Harry’s door with the devastating news that Len has been found in a pedestrian tunnel, beaten to death. The investigating officer is played by Emily Mortimer with great subtlety and her character provides a compassionate and sensitive edge to what is otherwise a film of harsh brutality.

Harry knows that it is the street gangs that are to blame as throughout the film he witnesses their despicably violent acts and the unrest they caused Len in the lead up to his murder. His lonely existence gives him a lot of time to think and he decides to take matters into his own hands as the police seem to be powerless to stop the ongoing crime. He tracks down some drug dealers so he can purchase a gun. Once led into their lair, we are exposed to the harshness of the life of a junkie, a situation which is demonstrated with harrowing authenticity (not that I’d know). The set is grimy, dark and industrial and the performances all-too-convincing. However, Harry sees these people as the enemy as well, the ones whose drugs are fuelling the violence. He tells a story to the drug boss about his past in the Royal Marines that he has never before mentioned before putting a bullet in him, and with that story as well as his new-found violent edge, one is led to believe that Harry is now maybe exorcising some demons from his past that he has kept locked inside of him for many years.

Harry continues on a vigilante rampage against those who were involved with the murder of Len, and has managed to maintain his shooting accuracy after all those years.

In the meantime, the police investigation into Len’s murder continues but to no avail. Several members of the young gangs are interviewed, including the apparent leader, Noel Winters, who is chillingly played by a very convincing Ben Drew (notable also as singer Plan B). Emily Mortimer’s Detective Inspector Frampton is worrying about those who have been murdered in the wake of Len’s death and thinks it is Mr Brown that has carried out some of the recent killings. To her dismay, like in every season of 24, there is that old cliché of the superior officer who ‘just won’t listen’, so her suspicions are dismissed.

The film becomes increasingly violent as it goes along, although I must admit it never becomes gratuitous. It has to be said that director Daniel Barber has done an excellent job in making the whole situation as realistic as possible, having even employed many members of street gangs as supporting artists.

With a small yet interesting twist towards the end, this is a film that moves along at perfect pace. Not seeming overlong or drawn out, it comes to an end which concentrates on displaying the police force in a negative light. This is a theme carried on for quite a bit of the film and does eventually become slightly self-serving. Having said that, the central performance of Sir Michael Caine is beautifully nuanced and his work on this film could stand up there amongst some of his best. He portrays a complicated, hurt old man with the expert ease we have come to expect, and is totally believable as a menacing killer in the second act of the film. Moreover, he is complimented by the likes of Liam Cunningham who plays his local pub landlord and Joseph Gilgun, who provides a hauntingly memorable performance as junkie drug boss Kenny.

On the other hand, one thing which did irritate me about this film was the constant portrayal of young people as violent criminals and thugs. Although the point of the film is to convey that there is a huge problem with drugs and guns on our streets, there seemed to be no balance. It provided no hope, and for many young people out there, including myself, this is an issue, as we aren’t all pistol-wielding hoodlums. Emily Mortimer’s character surely does represent some positive aspects of society today, but I felt that wasn’t enough. Even though the message of this film is one that those involved (Michael Caine included) clearly care an awful lot about, the film is still unfortunately rendered slightly one-sided and gives the audience a somewhat skewed view of young people today.

Aaron Devine