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Harry Brown (2009)

Director: Daniel Barber

Time Out rating

Average user rating

28 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Michael Caine by the time this hateful vigilante flick set in modern-day London came to a close. Did the old boy know what he was getting into? The funny thing is that ‘Harry Brown’, bar a violent prologue, begins fairly soberly, even reflectively, as if the makers were thinking more of ‘All or Nothing’ than ‘Death Wish’. Harry (Caine, below) is a widower who shuffles around a crumbling housing estate with only fellow army vet Leonard (David Bradley) for company. But life changes when Leonard falls prey to the hoodies who linger in the local underpass. When distraught Harry gets short shrift from the police (badly written, and poorly played by Emily Mortimer and Charlie Creed-Miles), he decides to take the law into his own hands and drives this already wobbly wagon straight into hysterical genre territory. By now, all you can do is sigh, laugh and try not to get upset at the stupidity of it all.

Although it takes a while before ‘Harry Brown’ shows its true colours, there’a a vulgar whiff from the off: in the first seconds of this debut from director Daniel Barber (who, technically, shows a fair amount of talent) we watch grainy mobile footage of a kid on a scooter as he confronts a young mum and shoots her dead before he comes a cropper himself on the road. It’s horrible stuff, but there must be a good reason for it, surely?

As it turns out, this scene is a random first glimpse of a warped portrait of our city that’s straight out of the Daily Mail – a place where your granny might get shot, stabbed or battered at every turn. It’s also the first hint of the sick ideology of the film, in which ill-informed pessimism is bolstered by childish ideas of revenge. There’s always a punishment around the corner, not only to avenge bad behaviour but also to give the makers sneaky licence to indulge in violence. As narrative – and moral – maths go, this is a cooking of the books that sidesteps any smart commentary on real life.

Author: Dave Calhoun 2009-11-10 12:07:07

Time Out London Issue 2047: November 12-18, 2009

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User reviews of this film

usman khawaja said...

Posted on Nov 21 2009 19:09 DAVE CALHOUN -thanks for a rather inadvertent compliment ,the ancient meccans and western islamophobics accused KORAN as being WARPED POETRY AS WELL -to me that SEEMS A RATHER SINGULAR HONOUR -i am unworthy of it -god bless timeout

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Nov 21 2009 17:47 THANK YOU TIMEOUT -GOD SURE IS SMILING -LOLZ
I WILL BUT I AM SOON OFF TO MY TRAVELS -I DO ADORE YOU AS WELL AS NYT FORUM WHEN I GET THETIME OUT -IT IS DIFFICULT TO KEEP UP WITH TOO MANY MOVIES -U GUYS ARE DOING IT BETTER -REVIEWS ARE JUST PERSONAL OPINIONS NOTHING TO GET REALLY WARPED ABOUT TO INVOLVE THE GOD -HE IS TOO BUSY WITH OTHER THINGS -HAHA

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mery said...

Posted on Nov 21 2009 13:15 its a good film i like it

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mery said...

Posted on Nov 21 2009 13:15 its a good film i like it

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mery said...

Posted on Nov 21 2009 13:13 fuck this

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The Time Out Film team said...

Posted on Nov 20 2009 15:06 Usman, your prose reads like warped poetry from the Gods. Keep up the good commenting!

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Nov 20 2009 14:55 THIS IS MY REVIEW OF THE MOVIE I SENT TO NYT -REDERS REVIEWS AND THEY HAVE PUT IT ON THE SITE TODAY -I KNOE DAVE WILL NOT MIND IF I SHARE IT HERE TOO -GET CARTER GETS GOING IN A TRIUMPHANT MOOD
-Administering divine justice is a sordid but spellbinding business as senseless murder is the worst crime humanity can indulge in and this is rampant in our life and streets from glasgow to guildhall ,where arm and drug dealers use gangs of youngsters as foot soldiers with the oft obtained permission of the effete law enforcers who are semi corrupt and the rest are incompetent morons without a clue of the law they are trained to enforce .
Daniel barber in his morosely lit DEBUT ,with frames that at times are simply wistfully poetic in intensity ,has designed a mellow shocker set in the inner council states of my beloved london ,showing every vice and injustice that prevails without sermonising and he has a picture perfect micheal caine to deliver his powerful and true message ,the screen gets filled with frustrated rage at the miscreants ,but in a controlled rage where BARBER has elicited a NATURAL ACT FROM SIR Michael caine ,who is an honest retired marine pensioner ,whiling time AWAY playing chess with his mate ,until the pal ends up carved like a turkey in the council subway by some young thugs.
Michael is initially heartbroken but as the police case evolves he gets convinced the case will not even be prosecuted,AND accidentally one night after a drink he is assaulted by one of the suspects and ends up killing him in self defence ,but this opens the gates of justice and he starts to observe the seedy characters who are worst than vermin,his final decision to buy firearms on black market is logical and harrowing as he enters the nightmarish hovel of drugs and illicit ammunition and that sequence alone is nasty and satanic ,but immersed in a truly dark humour which is a surreal quality stamped all over this british classic .
The movie gets better with enough logic,though the PC played by EMILY MORTIMER ,gets a clue of his intentions but the senior officer refuses to intervene,from here on its a brilliant movie where everything from police cover-ups and the in effete judiciary is fully mocked by an intelligent script and director .
BARBER swathes his images in almost candle lit dark london alleys and towpaths and the surreal light adds a mystique to the man and his quest for seeking communal justice after all doors are shut and I admire his courage and wisdom to chose such a sensitive subject which we see everyday driving and cycling in and near council states with hooded kids creating carnage ,while the police fills forms to stow them away as it is a fashion parade with criminals as celebrities .
While the British state has totally failed to protect it's citizens,with loopholes of administrative errors and corruption ,the punitive measures as deftly employed here are without malice and a moralist fable which deserves a rousing applause ,in fact harry brown still has enough conscience after all these vicissitudes which he demonstrates in his gentle yet tough character , as he fails to execute the only pre-meditated murder he has planned ,but in the face of a mendacious and totally corrupt media and establishment ,he is lucky to escape with his live as dozens are butchered unreported in the ghetto council states of london and all over UK .
A Posthumously, nuanced magnificent act by an old wizard who carries this low budget classic on his stooped shoulders but he is a true stalwart and deserves a great award for hIs ruefully strong but tenderly compassionate performance ,WHERE Divine justice IS served on a poetic platter for the socially indifferent ,and the incredibly insensitive britain we have bred in the last decade alone and it has great dialogues filled with brusque dark humour which Caine delivers with a penchant where he gets applauded by audience multiple times for this significant ARTISTIC achievement .
– usman latif khawaja , havering,london,england

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Tony K said...

Posted on Nov 19 2009 16:25 Sir Michael Caine - what a master, what charisma, what an entertainer! 70 years young and he's done it again - you can't take your eyes off him and it is such a superb film. Once again the Time Out critics have got it hopelessly wrong. Two stars no way, this is a five star film just for its entertainment value. Sure there are some improbables in the film but they are easily forgiven. It's pacey, smart and so much a film of our times. Beautifully made and Emily Mortimer and Charlie Creed-Miles were great in their parts too. Highly recommend it.

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mary of inverurie said...

Posted on Nov 19 2009 16:08 Excellent performance by Michael Caine. Great direction for a newcomer. He should go far. Will look out for a few BESTS for this one. See it now.

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Knobby said...

Posted on Nov 19 2009 08:25 Best film I've seen in 25 years. Please put this film in front of the politicians or this could be the very near future

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usman latif khawaja said...

Posted on Nov 19 2009 00:29 timeout is writing reviews from cuckooland and this is proof enough -DC -I HOPE when you went to uxbridge they did not teach you how to cease your thought processes from functioning ,as this was a brilliant film as most viewers have proclaimed and you need to revise your review please as this review is gross injustice -worst than the senseless gang violence shown so affectively yet subtlly in this low budget off -beat classic -and it is definitely a glorious monent in micheal caine's illustrious career -
i request anyone who lives in UK to go and see this as after a long long time i saw a rivetting tale of divine justice being served to a corrupt and effete system and establishment -
just ignore the TO REVIEW -
PEOPLE WERE APPLAUDING AND IT HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE -
micheal caine deserves an award for this posthumous performance both nuanced and totally realistic in all aspects -must see

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Rosie said...

Posted on Nov 18 2009 18:38 I saw this in Wandsworth and thought it was fantastic - genuinely frightening, moving and accurate. Michael Caine has given it his all - its got Oscar all over it for him. Made coming home next to the local estate very sobering... theres a lot of shooting in Tooting

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John Walter said...

Posted on Nov 18 2009 09:28 Don't be put off, it's no way as mind-numbing as some of these reviews would have you believe. I liked the way the film-makers credited their audience with intelligence and managed to tell a story without spelling out every step. Witness the death of his wife, or the moment when he opens the box. The audience I saw it with at the weekend had no problems with murkiness - one line by the policeman got a round of applause.

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Ed said...

Posted on Nov 16 2009 20:17 I'm sure he had fun writing this from his little flat next to a nice tube and a starbucks. Come to Hackney mate.
Nice film.

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BlahBlahDoh said...

Posted on Nov 16 2009 13:53 I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Dave Calhoun after reading his review - a film critic who can't recognise a decent movie, did the poor boy know what he was getting into? Don't be put off.

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