Harry Brown

Harry Brown is an incredibly realistic and gritty tale that is disappointingly let down by its final act. Michael Caine plays Harry Brown, a pensioner who witnesses the council estate he lives on ruled by unruly gangs and after seeing a lack of action by the police decides to take matters into his own hands. Although this narrative may sound formulaic and clichéd, it was in fact expertly handled by director Daniel Barber, who crafted this tale in a highly believable fashion. Mr. Barber clearly had a lot to say about the current problems in today's society, this film is especially critical of the violent happy slapping youth culture and a bureaucratic establishment that seems unable to tame it. His commentary on these aspects were so effective that I found myself more than once shaking my head in disgust and was often consumed with anger during the viewing. Two thirds into the film I was pondering where I would rate it between 4 and 5, and then the last twenty minutes commenced and this movie went from a raw brutal drama, to a ridiculous over the top affair. We were suddenly subjected to action sequences and the sort of coincidence only a film script writer would consider. I can't help but feel a more subtle ending would have made this the best British film for many a year.

Score 3.5/5