Harry Brown (2009/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B
Michael
Caine is one of the great actors in cinema history. You could (at the risk of sounding dumb) say
that about any actor who has ever been in a movie or in many movies, but in the
vast majority of the cases, it simply would not hold water. Caine is one of the few actors whose name
would generally come up in such a conversation about the best. Why?
Is it the screen presence, the endurance, the sheer talent, the diversity,
the intensity, the career, the personality, the energy or that the camera likes
him and always has? It is all those
things and even more, but the #1 reason is taking all that, applying it, making
it work and most important of all, taking risks.
Even
though he is as commercially popular as ever (from the current Batman films to
Austin Powers, to Inception to Children Of Men and all of his
classics), he still is an all-time great looking to do roles that most would
not dare try. The most recent example of
this is Harry Brown, a little-seen
2009 British film where he plays the little character. A one-time serviceman, he left his darker
past behind for a peaceful life with the woman he loved in a nice neighborhood,
but his wife is now ill in the hospital, the neighborhood in severe decline and
all he has is one friend left to play chess with.
When his
wife dies in the hospital and his scarred friend is killed by the street gang
who has been tormenting him for a long time, Harry goes to the police as his
friend did before. Despite a good,
understanding D.I. (Emily Mortimer of Redbelt
and Match Point) trying to help,
even she is not able to take care of the problem, which is larger than she
thinks. And with nothing more to live
for, Harry can’t take it anymore, snaps and takes matters into his own hands.
So what
happens when someone great like Michael Caine takes on the role of a man who in
most narrative films could simply turn into a run-of-the-mill vigilante? Plenty.
Caine gives us a deeper character study of someone who may have a secret
past he cannot live with, but also the nuances, the pain, the loss and the
honesty you would not get from the usual reactionary version (from Death Wish on) of this story and
Director Daniel Barber delivers a stunningly powerful film and with the
screenplay by Gary Young, has created a sad look at post-Thatcher England at
its worst, but one that does not have to be tolerated and one that reflects
third-world country conditions not unlike so many great places in the U.S. also
treated as disposable along with its industrial base and its people.
Caine
communicates this in his performances and the result makes Harry Brown one of the most powerful independent productions of the
last few years.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is soft from how it was stylized and
that it is a High Definition shoot, but the very talented Director of
Photography Martin Ruhe (Control
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), The
American) is one of the few to date to use the format to his advantage,
bringing out nuances most HD shoots don’t even begin to think of. There are some interesting shots here and an
overall look that works. The DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is not bad, but this is a dialogue-based film
with a limited budget so this is the best we will ever hear this
soundtrack. Extras include BD Live and
movieIQ interactive features, HD trailers for other Sony Blu-ray releases,
interesting Deleted Scenes and feature length audio commentary track with Caine,
Barber and Co-Producer Kris Thykier.
Note that Matthew Vaughn also produced the film.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
