Harry Brown (2009)

An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.

Director:

Daniel Barber

Writer:

Gary Young (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Harry Brown
Emily Mortimer	...	D.I. Alice Frampton
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	D.S. Terry Hicock (as Charlie Creed Miles)
David Bradley	...	Leonard Attwell
Iain Glen	...	S.I. Childs
Sean Harris	...	Stretch
Ben Drew	...	Noel Winters
Jack O'Connell	...	Marky
Jamie Downey	...	Carl
Lee Oakes	...	Dean Saunders
Joseph Gilgun	...	Kenny
Liam Cunningham	...	Sid Rourke
Marva Alexander	...	Nurse #1
Liz Daniels	...	Kath Brown
Marvin Campbell	...	Stunt Neighbour (as Marvin Stewart-Campbell)

Storyline

In England, retired marine Harry Brown spends his lonely life between the hospital, where his beloved wife Kath is terminally ill, and playing chess with his only friend Leonard Attwell in the Barge pub owned by Sid Rourke. After the death of Kath, Len tells his grieving friend that the local gang is harassing him and he is carrying an old bayonet for self-defense; the widower suggests him to go to the police. When Len is beaten, then stabbed to death in an underground passage, Inspector Alice Frampton and her partner Sergeant Terry Hicock are sent to investigate. They pay Harry a visit but don't have good news; the police have not found any other evidence, other than the bayonet, in order to arrest the hoodlums. This mean that should the case go to trial the gang would claim self-defense. Harry Brown sees that justice will not be granted and decides to take matters into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | police | widower | self defense | arrest | 

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Taglines:

One man will take a stand.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, drug use and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hari Braun

Filming Locations:

Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$173,353 (USA) (30 April 2010)

Gross:

$1,818,681 (USA) (6 August 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marv Films, UK Film Council, HanWay Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Katie Jarvis as set to play a female thug, but had to back out of the production as she was pregnant at the time.

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Goofs

When Harry is buying the gun there is a girl lying on a the couch. When viewed from Harry's perspective her head is laying flat on the couch, in the shot from across the room her head is propped up against the arm of the couch.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Man1: Do you want it, fella, huh?
Man2: Yeah.
Man1: Because you wanted this yesterday, brother. You wanna do this shit?
Man2: Let's go.

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Connections

Referenced in The Trip (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Gold"
(1983)
(uncredited)
Written by Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet (uncredited)

User Reviews

Great talent supporting an Impressive film about Fundamental issues!

To start with, much credit must be given to the director and the cast for this dramatic masterpiece. All the actors, be it the talented Michael Caine or the younger members representing the gang, delivered an excellent performance contributing to the disturbing realism this film was able to achieve.

Combined with the perfect soundtrack, this film addresses the very contemporary issues that are violence and injustice in our supposedly civilised nations. Unlike Banlieue 13 which used the same kind of context to produce a superfluous action flick, or Gran Torino which confronts the issue from the perspective of racism, the realism of Harry Brown cannot but make us aware of our flawed individualistic society.

This film depicts the destructive environment in which the unfortunate many attempt to survive the anger, the fear and the injustice which inevitably feed the criminality plaguing our "evolved" world.

Not only is this film Oscar worthy, but most importantly, worth your while. If you enjoy good cinema and a good philosophical debate, then you will most definitively appreciate this genuine perspective on humanity!