Review: Harry Brown
Harry Brown is a conflicted film. It constantly preaches in Daily Mail fashion of the violent horrors of “Broken Britain” and yet constantly glorifies Harry Brown’s gory agenda.
It is also, apart from Caine’s excellent lead role and a surprisingly decent effort from rapper Plan B, populated with one dimensional tabloid stereotypes: teenaged hoodies, incompetent police officers, victimised pensioners, the lot. While parallels to tabloid fodder are somewhat unavoidable due to the inner city estate setting, the writing and execution of the film does nothing to it out of mediocrity.
The "Urban Western" feel of the movie doesn't sit well with the subject matter.
The premise of Harry Brown is full of promise and the interesting ultimately squandered possibilities. Senior ex-marine Harry Brown (Michale Caine) is living on a dilapidated council estate in London. The estate is plagued by future-less teenagers living on benefits and crime. These “kids” murder Harry’s best and only friend Leonard, setting up a grieving Harry for a revenge story. There are fleeting moments of brilliance: Caine’s downbeat portrayal of loss and loneliness in the first half of the film is almost oppressively effecting and his first encounter with the criminal underground is both tense and feels authentic (from my limited experience of London gun deals). This authenticity runs through the film, slang that the teenagers use for example, is spot on. The film’s main failing however, is it’s overwhelming focus on villainizing the teenagers on the estate, one area where in which it loses any authenticity. Sure there are some absolutely despicable characters out there, but the film portrays it’s teenagers as such one sided “monsters” that it looses a lot of credibility. I understand that the film needs to create hate-able antagonists, but it could stop at murder rather than having them piss on the body. Some more development of the teenagers could have made for a much better film with a more comfortable message.
I don’t mean to overstate the questionable message of the film like the concerned Guardian reading leftie that I am, because although it can often feel uncomfortable, that isn’t what ruins the film. For all of it’s great cinematography, excellent lead role and relatable contemporary setting, not much happens. Harry looses his friend, buys a gun, shoots a load of hoodies in the head, the end. If the film was less concerned with being edgy maybe it would have a proper story arc, but it feels half finished, like director Daniel Barber was determined to make a singular statement more than a cohesive story.
Harry Brown has some really brilliant moments, but its overwhelming focus on villainizing its teenagers leaves it lacking in actual plot.
Rating: 
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