Harry Brown

Director: Daniel Barber
Cast: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles, Liam Cunningham and David Bradley
Releasing in cinemas: 20 May 2010
Rated: MA 15+

The poster sums it all up really. Quoted as "The UK's answer to Gran Torino..." there would be few who could argue with that rather blunt assessment of Harry Brown. Yes, it's armed old men to the rescue once more, this time on the dangerous council estates of urban Britain.

Coming so soon after Gran Torino, there has to be a question over whether audiences can overlook the similarities between the two and embrace this similar - though hardly identical - film. Naturally, Anglophiles will probably prefer this to its trans-Atlantic cousin; and Michael Caine certainly holds his own against Clint Eastwood as the pistol-packing pensioner.

A basic problem however dogs both films - can audiences accept the premise that senior citizens would take the law into their own hands to clean up the streets of riff-raff? I have to say that Harry Brown certainly puts the proposition in rather more realistic perspective than Gran Torino. In one scene, foe example, the titular character chases a bad guy only to keel over from exhaustion. There are certainly no super heroes here.

Our hero - or maybe anti-hero - is the eponymous Harry Brown, a senior citizen living in a housing estate somewhere in England. While Harry likes to keep himself nice, it's fair to say those around him don't share his views. The remainder of the estate outside his flat is a cesspool of graffiti, yobs, drugs and violence. It's something Harry doesn't buy into, preferring to keep to himself despite his earlier career as a Royal Marine who saw action in Northern Ireland. But when some of the riff-raff bash and kill his only real friend, Len (David Bradley), he finds himself bewildered by the rather ineffectual response of the police, despite the well-meaning efforts of DI Alice Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and DS Terry Hicock (Charlie Creed-Miles). Harry decides to take things into his own hands, wreaking a terrible vengeance on those involved in Len's murder.

Although there may be a problem with the basic premise, the script is both the film's greatest strength and its key weakness. Penned by Gary Young, the script develops some very interesting ideas about violence and its consequences. It also does a good job of exploring the relationships between the main characters. There's even a very clever twist in the tale that brings about a shattering climax to the film.

Where it falls down however is that while Young and director Daniel Barber have some interesting things to say, those things are actually contradictory at times. Nowhere is that better illustrated than in the very final scene, which seems completely at odds with what has gone before it. I've seen suggestions that this was an afterthought, or perhaps an attempt to soften the blow of what is at times brutally shocking violence.

Few can hold a candle to Michael Caine when it comes to acting, and even at age 76, he's still a giant of the screen. His depiction of Harry is no exception, exuding the quality that we've come to expect from Sir Michael. Emily Mortimer is the other recognisable name in the cast list, and she does a good job with limited opportunities as the strait-laced detective. In supporting roles, Charlie Creed-Miles, Liam Cunningham and David Bradley are all good; and look out for a startling turn from Sean Harris as a very nasty piece of work indeed.

In the end, I'm not exactly sure what to make of Harry Brown. There's no denying this is an excellently made and gripping piece of cinema. By the same token however, its mixed messages are rather perplexing. This is however Barber's first feature, and on the strength of this film (which, by the way, has picked up several awards), you can only expect that he will go on to bigger and better things.

David Edwards