In Daniel Barber's Harry Brown, youth crime has reached an extreme level in Northern Ireland. Violent, drug-related criminal activity has got to the point where ordinary citizens fear for their lives on a daily bases. Harry Brown (Michael Caine) greatly disapproves of the situation but chooses to live out the rest of his days playing chess with his best friend, Leonard (David Bradley), simply attempting to avoid conflict and peacefully make his way to his grave. Brown suddenly reaches his breaking point once Leonard is killed by some of these young thugs and prepares to go on a violent, vigilant rampage to ensure that they know the citizenry will no longer stand for this.
While this is in no way a breakthrough in original storytelling, the gritty cinematography and a strong performance by Caine make this an exceptional film. This seems almost like the twisted brother of Eastwood's Gran Torino, the difference here being that audiences will feel more strongly connected with Brown, a man who takes a stand to devote everything he has left to fighting the good fight (as opposed to a stubborn, old racist).
From the very first scenes of the film there is a sense of terror: footage of a murder from the hand-held camera of two laughing teens. The gang members in this film are unrelenting in their horrific actions and the way in which they are shot -- often from a distance during various riots and beatings, illustrating the mob mentality that has corrupted these young men -- vividly captures the disturbing lengths these thugs will go in order to spread fear, wreack havoc and gain power. Most importantly though, these acts are done as mere entertainment. The system has let these kids down and they are living their lives in the only way they know how.
There is a lot to work with in terms of setting for Barber's team to work with. The broken down urban landscape of Northern Ireland looks like a war-torn village and its nooks and crannies are most frightening after dark, where much of this film takes place. Martin Ruhe (director of photography) made great use of shadows to instill fear every time a corner was turned; Brown was, at times, scarier than any horror movie I've seen in recent years. As the movie crept along however, it was not old Brown that was to be frightened, but the young men that took the life of his dear friend.
This is no ordinary vigilante flick in that there are no romantic ideals of good overcoming evil. Harry Brown is simply an old man, sadly made to take matters into his own hands whether or not he is healthy enough to succeed. There is indeed a tough task ahead of Brown and Barber does great justice to the film by not making his protagonist into an action hero, instead letting his emotional motivations determine to what extent he is able to push his aging mind and body. Not only does Caine's grit validate Brown's actions, rendering them believable, his frailty lends itself to a compassionate and sympathetic reading of this unlikely hero. Harry Brown is a startling examination of society at its most horrific and vulnerable. Though the circumstances that led to Brown's actions should never have happened in the first place, he took it upon himself to fight for his freedoms, eliciting in us the great question: "Where do we draw the line?"
HARRY BROWN
Directed by: Daniel Barber
Written by: Gary Young
Starring: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Jack O'Connell and Liam Cunningham
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