For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Harry Brown
The Impression:
Michael Caine can do almost no wrong. His presence brings
gravitas to even the most piddling of scripts. Thus, a film
that sounds like Taken for the geriatric set had me entirely
curious.
The Reality:
This is a dirty, nasty bit of filmmaking. Michael Caine
plays Harry Brown, a retired English SAS officer who's
friend is frightened and then killed by a group of
hard-nosed neighborhood hooligans in an English project. To
say the least, Harry Brown wreaks his own brand of gruesome
revenge. Watching an elderly man, armed only with a knife
sitting in front of an enormous flat-screen television
blaring porn, being stared down by an amazingly creepy
drug-dealer, while trying to buy a gun had me buttock to the
rim. Michael Caine manages to imbue Harry Brown with a sort
of elderly charm that elevates above the standard mindless
killing machine. The criminals in the film, all young, emit
a sort of noxious anger that helps to create a sense of true
danger, making each and every foray poor Harry Brown makes
seem that much more dangerous.
A tense, gritty bit of action that falters in its finish but
still feels violently fresh.
The Lesson:
Stay away from the nasty projects of London, all you'll get
is a knife in your back.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
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