Harry Brown: "Bugger Off My Bloody Lawn!"

Harry Brown is a nasty little vigilante thriller that is the very definition of old school. I attempted to read several reviews for it but agreed to stop as soon as my eyes skimmed over the words Death Wish or Gran Torino. I don't remember ever finishing a single one. I actually found this film to be darker, colder, and especially more violent than its predecessors. Not necessarily a bad thing considering it puts more recent films with this theme (The Brave One, Death Sentence) to shame.

Harry, the always reliable Michael Cane, is a former marine and a solitary man that is learning to deal with loss. First his daughter several years ago, and then his wife. His only friend Leonard is constantly tormented by the local drug dealing hoods, and since the police won't lift a finger to help Leonard decides to keep a bayonet on his person for safety. Harry is devastated to learn that the very next morning his last remaining companion has been murdered. Deciding that enough is enough and with nothing to lose Harry hits the streets ruthlessly looking for justice. Whether that means torturing a punk by beating him with a rubber hose, or shooting first and asking questions later.

The performances here are quite good. Cane is totally believable as a widower who sternly decides to take justice into his own hands. He cries numerous times throughout the course of this film and you believe it and feel sorrow for him every time. You want to know how much of a badass this retiree is? In the middle of the film he brings a knife to a gunfight and still manages to come out on top. Emily Mortimer (A hit or miss actress if I have ever seen one) delivers a fine performance as well playing the serious yet sympathetic detective who begins to figure out Harry's scheme.

While this may be a brutal and well made thriller it certainly suffers from a severe lack of originality. There is not one moment or surprise in this film that I didn't see coming a mile away. The only thing missing was a final shot of Cane walking in the park, seeing a group of hoods giving an elderly lady a hard time, and then gesturing to them using his index finger and thumb like a pistol. Harry Brown still manages to be the worst nightmare of both junkies and boredom. B+