Showing November 2009 @ Showcase De Lux, Bristol

I don’t know about you but when I lock my eyes onto the mesmerising British actor, Michael Caine, I am immediately in my mind catapulted back to the colourful days of the Italian Job. Some might state these were his finer days and the most memorable of his exceptional career but I should remind them of his brilliant work recent films like The Prestige, The Dark Knight and Is Anybody There? All these were classics of this decade, affirming the straightforward point that Caine is still respectable of an audience’s recognition.

Here we are 55 years on from the elegant Zulu and we can still experience the 76 year old Michael Caine hosting a fire arm, as he acquires the role of hard-nut Harry Brown. We admit the world of Harry, an-ex serviceman who lives deep in the heart of the run down south London. Gangs of “chavs” seem to dominate the area and making some of the public to petrified to even leave their own homes. This is nothing that concerns Harry too much though until the death of his close friend. Promptly after this we ride a rage filled inquisition of vengeance as he deals with these rowdy street thugs in his own way to pinpoint the murderer. If you’re a supporter of revenged based plots like Outlaw and the ever so unique Gran Torino then this will most indubitably tick a box for you.

With a risky cameo from Plan B and an unheard of director Daniel Barber, Harry Brown is most positively taking a plunge into the unknown, but don’t be alarmed; I believe that at this present age in film making that’s what we need - a risk to take us somewhere unfamiliar, something fresh and most essentially inspiring. This project more than meets these needs and feels completely contemporary in every field. The only bitter aspect for this motion picture is that with such a substantial hype shadow birthed by prodigious films such as Twilight: New Moon, which is abducting cinema attendants all across the globe, will this modern treasure be acknowledged by many? I sure hope so.

www.harrybrownthemovie.co.uk

Andrew Dex