After much thought I am still unsure of how to classify this film. At once it is a sympathetic tale of redemption, as well as a sordid tale of crime and almost mystery; I crime thriller, a neo-noir, a gangster flick and an art house piece all at once. It weaves together a dark tapestry of all of the different ugly patches that make up the London underworld and leaves the audience member feeling unsettled and confused.
Michael Caine is Harry Brown, a pensioner who is going through a relentless streak of misfortune. His wife has recently died, probably from a stroke or Alzheimer's. His daughter died very young. His best friend, Leonard (David Bradley), has recently been killed at the hands of a street gang which meets near the complex where the two mates live. It is a rough area which leaves the decent folk scared and forces bolts to be locked at night. When the police don't do enough in the murder case--nor did they help when Leonard went to them, frightened by the harassment he had been receiving--Harry decides to take justice into his own hands.
Caine is exemplary as always. This is an extremely challenging character which requires an actor with enough skill to navigate different levels of grief and anger without it becoming redundant. The situation is not implausible. I know that I find myself dreading leaving District 1 in London, and this film is unflinching in its presentation of youth violence in rough areas of the big city. The way he handles a frightening situation without ever doing too much, which I expect is something that could easily have been done with this material, is commendable.
This film seems rather poignant following the London Riots of 2011. Police ineffectiveness and locations which foster ignorance which breeds violence is a recipe for disaster. This film is almost prophetic in how it presents a culture of young, uneducated rebels and how they lash out against a society built around and against them.
It seems to me, however, that this film's message becomes unclear when it comes to picking a hero. Obviously we are meant to side with the title character. Caine has nearly all of the screen time and even when he is not there we are only thinking of him. However, when the police do nothing he turns to vigilantism which leads him to violence and murder. Are we to accept the things that he does? He is cool, levelheaded, and in day to day life he is an innocent and perfectly likable man. His friend's death may have been preventable and yet it still occurred. Does that mean the lives he takes are acceptable? Is it meant to be reasonable that we regress as a society when our government stands idly by? I am not sure.
What I am sure of, however, is that directorially this is an outstanding piece. At times it seemed a bit hackneyed and melodramatic, particularly at the beginning, but once it found its grounding the atmosphere and pacing brought it to a hugely uncomfortable level for the viewer. There is very little light in this film of greys and blacks, but that bleakness is beautifully toned. It is uncompromisingly pessimistic and I believe the ending is gilded with fool's gold. Do not watch this film seeking a gratifying ending. Its climax is superb, albeit quite a different ending than what it ought to have had, but its resolution did nothing to placate me.
This is a dark, disturbing movie with an original plot containing the disjointed pieces of its situation and its protagonist. It is not for the feint of heart, but it is a rewarding, if mildly confusing, movie going experience.
3/4
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