Movie Review - 'Harry Brown'

Harry Brown Starring Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer Directed by Daniel Barber Rated R

Two remarkable scenes and another terrific performance by Michael Caine are just enough to put Harry Brown over the top. Otherwise, it's just an older, British Death Wish that moves too slow. The tricky part for director Daniel Barber (making his feature debut) is juggling the vigilante justice with what's going on beneath the surface within Caine's title character. For most of the film's 103 minutes, he keeps everything in the air, although it does feel like a few elements crash to the ground towards the end. Harry Brown is a retired Marine and widower who realizes his own anonymity. He wakes up at 6:30, makes his breakfast (which he eats at a cramped table for two in his kitchen), and has plenty of time to scrape crumbs off the table before washing his dishes, putting on his suit, and walking out the door. Why does he bother with the suit, this man who just blends in? Is it too impress somebody, to remind himself, or is it simply a product of an earlier, simpler time? Brown and his friend Leonard (David Atwell) lament what has happened to their side of London over the years. It's now run-down and dominated by gang activity. Leonard recounts the abuse he's suffered at the hands of several punks just hours before he's killed by the same hooligans. And even though Harry Brown doesn't think he has much more to live for, he finally sees something he has to fight for. The police (embodied by the well-meaning Emily Mortimer and the seen-it-all Charlie Creed-Miles) seem powerless to help. Because Leonard was armed at the time of his killing, the crime can apparently only be pursued as a manslaughter, which Harry obviously can't stomach: His friend was armed because he needed to be, and he certainly didn't provoke the attack. What follows is vigilantism in a fairly pure form. Brown has no friends or family, works totally outside the jurisdiction of law enforcement, and goes begging for a fight. Then another one. And another one. And yet another one still. Barber is able to increase the tension of the exchanges as we go, but he does give Harry a bit too much of a fighting chance, and so it's not as entirely believable as we'd like. Caine, as he almost always is, is perfectly cast. His first film was Zulu, which for its time was pretty violent. Now, 45 years later, we can see why Harry Brown had chosen to leave the violent world behind him. "Did you ever kill anybody, Harry," asks Leonard as the two discuss fighting back against the gangs. "You can't ask me that, Leonard," he replies. And even when he feels duty-bound to respond physically, Caine doesn't look comfortable with his mission at first. Over time it becomes more natural to him, and then an impulse, and Caine modifies his portrayal to suit the old Marine coming out again, but it's very subtle stuff. Of the violence, it can be said that Barber should have locked it down a little more tightly; the age of the lone aged gunman against insurmountable odds has probably passed, and any message this film might try to send gets watered down by the illusion that a man nearing 80 would perform so well in these situations. It's one of the things Gran Torino got absolutely right, and the violence in that film seems more consequential than what we're fed in the last 40 minutes of Harry Brown. There are still those two remarkable scenes, however. The first is, well, the first. Harry Browne kicks off with a handheld motorcycle rampage that doesn't end well for anybody. Immediately, we realize how far ultra-violence has come since Kubrick's Droogs, both for the characters and the viewers. The second brilliant piece of work features Harry Brown infiltrating a gang under the guise of buying a gun to ward off pigeons from his roof. It's the most tension we get here. And then there's a third, more understated scene, which in its presentation is nothing all that special. But when Harry finds out about Leonard's death, watch how long Michael Caine fights back tears, wonder how he times them just right, and be thankful that this guy decided to pursue acting as his life's work.