Brighton Rock (2010)

Charts the headlong fall of Pinkie, a razor-wielding disadvantaged teenager with a religious death wish.

Director:

Rowan Joffe

Writers:

Rowan Joffe, Graham Greene (novel)

Stars:

Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Riley	...	Pinkie
Andrea Riseborough	...	Rose
Helen Mirren	...	Ida
John Hurt	...	Phil Corkery
Philip Davis	...	Spicer
Nonso Anozie	...	Dallow
Craig Parkinson	...	Cubitt
Andy Serkis	...	Colleoni
Sean Harris	...	Hale
Geoff Bell	...	Kite
Steven Robertson	...	Crab
Maurice Roëves	...	Chief Inspector
Steve Evets	...	Mr Wilson
Francis Magee	...	Pavement Photographer
Adrian Schiller	...	Registrar

Storyline

An adaptation of Graham Greene's classic novel about a small-town hood who marries a waitress who witnessed him murdering a rival thug in order to keep her quiet. As his gang begins to doubt his abilities, the man becomes more desperate and violent.

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Plot Keywords:

waitress | gang | beach | riot | gang war | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Anilikos dolofonos

Filming Locations:

Regency Cafe - 17-19 Regency Street, Victoria, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£352,815 (UK) (4 February 2011)

Gross:

£708,616 (UK) (11 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, BBC Films, UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stars both Sam Riley (Pinky) and Sean Harris (Hale). In previous roles, both Riley and Harris have portrayed Joy Division lead singer, Ian Curtis. Sam Riley played Curtis in Control and Sean Harris did so in 24 Hour Party People. This mirrors Dead Man's Shoes which starred Paddy Considine and Toby Kebbell, both of which played Joy Division's manager, Rob Gretton, in '24 Hour Party People' and 'Control' respectively. And it also unites again two stars of Control, Riley and Craig Parkinson who played Tony Wilson.

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 28 January 2011 (2011)

User Reviews

Mildly engaging crime drama

The main character of this movie is Pinkie Brown, a small-time thug in Brighton, England, in the 1960s. Pinkie's true evil nature comes out when he tries to take over a small gang of criminals after their leader had been killed by a rival gang. As played here, Pinkie is in his 20s and, as brash and amoral as he is, he and his mediocre cohorts are no match for the rival gang that basically runs underground crime in Brighton.

The action is sordid and ugly, but the glossy color photography works at cross purposes to conveying that mood. Much of the photography is more appropriate for an art film than for this down-and-dirty fare, making me think that maybe black and white would have been a more appropriate choice. As Pinkie, I found Sam Riley just a little too handsome for the part--he does not exude the menace and harsh personality that is Pinkie's nature.

I found the initial setup scenes rapid-paced and confusing, requiring close attention; if you don't follow what has happened early on, you will be at a loss to fully understand what happens later. An additional complication to my following the opening scenes was the fact that I am not a Brit and didn't always follow the cadences and clipped manner of speaking. I confess to starting the movie over after about fifteen minutes, with English subtitles turned on. That was a great help.

The score that often seems to aspire to the transcendent seems greatly out of place.

I wish I had seen this movie before having read the book, since having some of the images in mind would have been good. Never having been to Brighton, my mental picture of it would have been greatly enhanced by what is well captured here. While the movie strips from the book much of the depth of the themes of sexuality, morality, loyalty, and sin, there are things in the movie that I found improved upon the book. I liked Helen Mirren's portrayal of Ida as a more centered person than the blithe Ida of the book, and John Hurt fleshed out Ida's friend Phil better than what I got from the book. And there are a lot of little things. For example, I pictured the candy, Brighton rock, as being something like a candy cane rather than the weighty rod seen in the movie. I regret that Pinkie's lawyer Prewitt was deleted--he was a truly Dickensian character in the book. And why the great ending in the book was changed is beyond me.