And that saying is “don’t *#@&* with an old man, he’ll just kill you”. Thankfully, “Harry Brown” is in fact not so formulaic as most vigilante stories.
Harry (Michael Caine) is willfully ignorant of the criminal happenings on the estate where he lives.
Hi beloved wife is wasting away in the hospital, he has precious few friends and knows little of the people who live in or around the estate. Ignorance is in fact bliss. Harry’s a decent man who’s seen and done awful things in his time in the Royal Marines.
These things, he locked in a vault long ago when he first met the love of his life, and will not speak of them.
That’s how it used to be for old soldiers. Do your duty, leave and make a life.
Well Harry has a friend, Leonard (David Bradley), old like him, who confesses to being scared of the thugs on the estate.
The kids. Actually, vile, antisocial dealers, rapists and killers.
But for Harry, the trigger wasn’t when his friend Leonard was murdered as he finally confronted them. It was when the misguided Detective Inspector (Emily Mortimer) began questioning exactly why Leonard carried a bayonet and whether it was Harry who gave it to him.
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From that point on, Harry’s second set of eyelids lift and he sets out to track Leonard’s murderers and kill them. The system, such as it is, seems to want to excuse them.
The way “Harry Brown” depicts life on British estates, known as HLM in France and “projects” in the States is realistic and shaded: you do get a glimpse of how these monsters are made, although yeah, you still want them to die.
Brutal, despicable and so despairingly stupid. Growing out of a system which condones the offense.
What sets “Harry Brown” apart from typical vigilante fare is its heart. “The horseman” was a cold, gutsy and single-minded nail biter, but Michael Caine’s performance is deeply human. I’ve only developed an appreciation for his talent and skill in recent years. I don’t quite know why, but I will enjoy revisiting his prior movies.
There is beauty in “Harry Brown”, that of decency and loyalty. In this life, I have had the blessed honor of knowing men of that mold, such as my father in law amongst others. This isn’t popcorn or chewing gum fare, this is a study of studied indifference blown apart.
“Harry Brown” gets five jellybeans.
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