Harry Brown
We have already had a look at one great Michael Caine performance whilst casting our eye over the movies of 2009 that you really should have seen.
harry brown is a second movie of his that you really should check out, Caine is like a fine wine he appears to be getting better with age.
Michael Caine is one of the greatest British actor to ever grace the big screen and it's great to see him back and, quite frankly, kicking some ass in Harry Brown.
Set in modern day Britain, Harry Brown follows one man’s journey through a chaotic world where teenage violence runs rampant.
As a modest, law abiding citizen, Brown lives alone on a tough estate runs by gangs and rife with guns and drugs.. His only companion is his best friend Leonard.
When Leonard is killed, Brown reaches his breaking point. Having lost faith in the police Brown, an ex-marine, takes matters into his own hands to show that there are people willing to stand up to those who think they 'run' the estate.
Caine is an actor who really has got better with age, I'm not suggesting he was a slouch in his younger years, but Harry Brown was his second outstanding performance of 2009 after Is Anybody There?
Caine as a OAP vigilante is totally believable and never at any point does it feel fake or forced and you can't help but root for him.
After the death of his wife the murder of Len leaves him with nothing and he, like so many others, live his days in fear.
But Caine produces a tough as old boots performance as a man who has been pushed to the edge and no longer has anything to lose, he really does put in a great turn.
The movie is the directorial debut of Barber and sadly that shows as the pacing of the movie is terribly uneven and there is no character development, except from Brown and even that is miniscule.
The character that really should have been explored is that of Emily Mortimer, who is desperately under-used, the reason behind why she took her posting really could have been very interesting.
It's Caine's central performance that really holds the movie together and pushes it forward, you have to wonder how it would have turned out with a lesser actor in the lead role.
But it's a gritty, hard hitting movie that does deliver a moral message that really shouldn't be ignored.
It's very much a British version of Gran Torino, except it's not as polished a picture as Clint Eastwood's effort.
While the film isn't gripping from start to finish, but it does have some really great revenge, bloody moments, it's Caine's performance that will keep you watching.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Sir Michael Caine