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, David Bradley

1 win & 4 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
Plan B	...	Noel Winters (as Ben Drew)
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 Royal 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 the local gang is harassing him and he is carrying an old bayonet for self-defence. Harry suggests he to go to the police. When Len is beaten, and stabbed to deatry detective 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-defence. Harry Brown sees that justice will not be granted and decides to take matters into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

self defense | vigilantism | vigilante | hooded sweatshirt | cell phone video | 

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Taglines:

Every man has a breaking point.

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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 [France]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hari Braun

Filming Locations:

A12 in Marks Gate, Essex, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,271,814 (United Kingdom), 15 November 2009, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$173,353, 2 May 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,818,681, 8 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

When Harry is going through the items in his "treasure box" he pulls out a knife. It is a Fairbain/Sykes knife designed for knife fighting especially for military commandos in WW II.

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Goofs

Harry Brown makes a reference to the abdominal wound of the gun dealer as probably involving his liver. The liver is in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, the bullet wound was in the left lower quadrant making this reference inaccurate.

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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

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Robin Hood/Letters to Juliet/Just Wright (2010)

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Soundtracks

I Love London (Delta Heavy Remix)
Performed by Crystal Fighters
Written by Gilbert Vierich, Sebastian Pringle, Graham Dickson
Produced by Crystal Fighters
Remixed by Delta Heavy
Published by Copyright Control
(p) 2009 Crystal Fighters exclusively licensed to Kitsune

User Reviews

Caine opens his legs and shows his class

The movie is set in The Elephant and Castle where I, as a 17 year old, went to a strip joint in a well dodgy pub during a visit to London. If I'd have seen this film beforehand I'd not have gone within a mile of the area, never mind into its seedy interior.

Apparently Michael Caine is from "The Elephant" so this was probably quite a nostalgic road trip for him. In the movie he plays a vigilante gradually becoming more and more determined to avenge the brutal murder of his old mate (fast on the heels of his wife's death) at the hands of a bunch of local scum who terrorise the neighbourhood.

This is no ordinary vigilante movie and, although I haven't seen it, it must bear considerable comparison to Grand Torino where another fine actor in his latter years dominates a movie.

The casting is wonderful and the thugs that terrify the local community are entirely believable. But from start to finish this is Caine's movie. He plays his part with massive pathos. We feel deeply sorry for him as, first, his wife and, then, his only chum pass away leaving him quietly tormented and then incredibly angry as he learns that his mates death was mockingly filmed on a mobile phone to the accompaniment of raucous laughter.

The brutality of this movie is searing and really shocking at times. The riot scene is entirely believable, which is difficult to achieve on a low budget but certainly hits the spot. It plays an important central role in undermining the police and showing them off as the useless and uncaring force that director, Daniel Barber is keen to establish .

Two things make this movie a real stand out; Caine and the pacing of the action.

It starts brutally slowly and gradually winds up in pace and tension but never to Hollywood proportions. Don't forget that Caine is a pensioner! Amazingly it holds your belief throughout - not an inconsiderable achievement in a genre that tends to become overblown and ridiculous.

I expect Michael Caine will get a BAFTA nomination for this (at the very least). He might even win because his performance is stunning. I certainly hope so.

His best performance? Arguably.

A great film? Definitely.