Harry Brown – Review

When one thinks of a vigilante in films, the first names to come to mind are Charles Bronson (Death Wish) and Kevin Bacon (Death Sentence). Michael Caine isn’t a name that immediately comes to mind, but after Harry Bown, he has a right to be.

We are introduced to Harry Brown after a few scenes shot using a shaky cam of some gang activity. Harry is an elderly gentleman, who is dealing with his wife’s dying days in a hospital. On top of that, he doesn’t live in the best area in town. The kids are violent, their into drugs and they won’t do anything less than murder to get what they want. Across from Harry’s apartment is an underpass, or walking tunnel, that the kids have taken over as their hang out. If you dare true to walk through it, you’re looking at violence towards you.

After visiting his wife in the hospital one day, Harry goes to his local pub, where we see him lpying chess with his long time friend, Leonard Attwell (David Bradley – Hot Fuzz, the Harry Potter series). Leonard is fed up up at the violence in the area. Harry tells him that there is nothing that they can do about it. Their too old, and the police don’t care.

During the night, Harry gets a phone call and rushes off. He heads to the hospital to find out that his wife has just died. After her funeral, Harry and Leonard are back at the pub. Leaonard tells Harry he’s had enough, and is going to take things into his own hands. Leonard is going to kill the kids with a saber he shows Harry. The next day Harry gets a visit from two officers, D.I. Alice Frampton (Emily Mortmer – Shutter Island) and D.S. Terry Hicock (Charlie Creed-Miles). They inform him that his friend has been murdered. This is the last straw from Harry, who decides that he is going to find the kids that did this and to take them out.

Harry Brown is an intense thriller that is raw, real and gritty. The acting is superb from top to bottom. The thugs in the movie are fantastic as you really hate them. There is a scene where D.I. Frampton and D.S. Hicock have arrested a few of the teens they feel commited the murder and are interrigating them. These scenes are incredibally affective. Michael Caine proves once again why he just might be the greatest living actor today. His range in this film is amazing. From his sorrow during the scenes about his wife, to his hate for the teens, you are rooting for him at every turn.

In a movie that is so heavy, there was one scene where I almost started to laugh, but that didn’t have anything to do with the movie itself. There is a scene where Harry has caught one of the teens. he is trying to get information out of him, and at one point he starts to whip the teens legs. This brought me back to an earlier movie of Caine’s, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, where he is whipping Steve Martin’s legs in one fo the funniest scenes in that movie.

The only thing I question about this movie is where are the parents? When on of the thugs, Marky (Jack O’Connell) is getting arrested, you see his mom, but other than that, it seems like there are no families around. There is a riot scene at the housing complex where Harry lives, and all you see are the teens, and no parents. I know the teens probably don’t have a good home life, but there is no sign of adults outside of the officers, Harry, Leonard and the pub owner, Sid Rourke (Liam Cunningham - Clash of the Titans 2010).

Overall, I loved this movie, and if you are a fan of acting, this is a must see for Michael Caine’s performance alone. Just remember to buy a bar of soap afterwoods, because you will want to take a shower to remove all the grit.

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