Film Review: HARRY BROWN (2009)

Director: Daniel Barber
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

UK release date: 11th November 2009

Watched on DVD Sunday 19th September 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have always been a fan of the work of Michael Caine and I unfortunately missed this one when it came out. This film described has as many things, ‘Death Wish for geriatrics’ was one of my favourites. What it is is a revenge thriller with some vigilantaeism thrown in for good measure. But more of that later, here’s a short synopsis first.

Harry Brown is an ex marine; he lives on a high-rise estate in London. His wife has recently died and he has just one friend, Leonard, left on the estate. There is a lot of trouble with teenagers using drugs and committing crimes around the place and the police seem incapable of doing anything about it. Eventually Leonard decides he has had enough and confronts some of the youths. Unfortunately this does not go well and he ends up being killed. The police, in the guise of D.I. Alice Frampton and D.S. Terry Hicock call on Harry to break the news. The investigation gets bogged down in red tape and Harry decides it’s time to take action. Using his military training, he begins to take revenge on those who murdered his friend.

Now, I have heard that the level of violence depicted in this film is too high. To me it’s about right. The level of violence used by Harry Brown is entirely justifiable in my opinion. If anything, the character is very restrained compared to the low-life’s he’s up against. But I digress, great performances all round, particularly from Michael Caine as Harry Brown, I thought he was outstanding. Honourable mentions must also go to; Emily Mortimer as D.I. Alice Frampton, Charlie Creed-Miles as D.S. Terry Hicock and David Bradley as Leonard Attwell.

I found this film very engrossing; I felt for Harry’s character and could sense the frustration of Alice. The bad guys were very intimidating as well which added to the tension. A very well made film with some great performances, if slightly too violent for some. Over all, recommended.

My score: 8.2/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1289406/
Official Site: http://www.harrybrownthemovie.co.uk/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi4084073497/

Film Review: TRANSSIBERIAN (2008)

Director: Brad Anderson
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 23rd January 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I always find films that involve a journey quite interesting. Maybe because of the ever changing scenery, or maybe because of the interesting people that are met on the way, I’m not sure. And so I came to this film with some anticipation. The setting is, not surprisingly, the Transsiberian railway that runs from Vladivostok on the East cost of Russia through to Moscow. There is also a line that joins the Transsiberian that runs north from Beijing in China.

A young American couple, Roy and Jessie have been doing some work for their church in Beijing and have decided to travel back to the States overland, and so they take the Transsiberian from Beijing. They share a cabin with another couple, Carlos, from Spain and Abby from Seattle. Carlos and Abby are worldly wise and advise the somewhat naive Roy and Jessie on how best to avoid attracting attention from the authorities. Jessie seems to get particular attention from Carlos, who shows her a collection of Russian nesting dolls that he says he plans to sell in Amsterdam. During a stop, Roy and Jessie get separated when Roy is accidentally left behind. Jessie has to wait at the next stop for Roy to come through the following day. Carlos and Abby decide to wait with her. Whilst there, Carlos takes Jessie out to photograph an old abandoned church out in the frozen countryside, leaving Abby back at the hotel. He starts to make a move on Jessie and, at first she responds, but then backs off. Carlos doesn’t like this and pursues her through the woods. Jessie, now desperate, picks up a piece of wood and hits him with it. She hits him with it several times and before she knows it, he’s dead. She heads back to the hotel and goes to the train station where Roy has just arrived. They continue their journey with a new cabin-mate, a narcotics detective, Grinko. He tells them how smugglers were now using mules to get heroin into the country and forming it into everyday objects. Looking in her case later, Jessie finds the Russian dolls Carlos had shown her earlier… I think that’s enough spoilers for now.

Quite a well made film with some good performances; some of the cinematography was really excellent. The setting was a little constricting, but the story seemed to flow quite well despite this. As I said, good performances from all of the leading cast, Woody Harrelson as Roy, Emily Mortimer as Jessie, Ben Kingsley as Grinko, Kate Mara as Abby, Eduardo Noriega as Carlos and Thomas Kretschmann as Klozak.

This is a film of two halves, the first half up to the murder of Carlos, and the second half involving the mysterious Detective Grinko. Although I found the first half slightly predictable, I thought the second half didn’t quite live up to expectations. It seems to be a recurring theme with modern thrillers; it’s almost as if writers have forgotten how to write an ending. Over all, it’s not a bad film, a good one to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon perhaps.

My score: 6.3/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0800241/
Official Site: http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/transsiberian/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2246508825/