- This new adaptation of Thomas Hughes famous novel tells the tale of a young boy s courage in the face of vicious bullying. Set in Rugby Public School during the1800s, Tom transforms from a timid, homesick schoolboy to a courageous student as he learns to confront his fears, stand up for his friends, and hurdle the obstacles of adolescence. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:Â TELEVISION Rating:&nb
Set in modern day Britain,
Harry Brown follow's one man's journey through a chaotic world where drugs are the currency of the day and guns run the streets. A modest law-abiding citizen, Harry Brown is a retired Marine and a widower who lives alone on a depressed housing estate. His only company is his best friend Leonard (David Bradley). When Leonard is murdered by a gang of thugs, Harry feels compelled to act and is forced to dispense his own brand of justice. As he bids to clean up the run-down estate! where he lives, his actions bring him into conflict with the police, led by investigating officer DCI Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and Charlie Creed-Miles. With its themes of rampant urban decay and crime, mistreatment of the elderly, and vigilantism,
Harry Brown will inevitably be compared to earlier movies from
Death Wish to
Gran Torino. The comparisons are apt, but with the able assistance of Michael Caine in the title role, director Daniel Barber and screenwriter Gary Young's tale stands on its own, grimly but compellingly. Caine's Harry Brown, a retiree and former marine, lives alone in a flat in a decrepit London council estate, spending his time visiting his comatose wife in the hospital, playing chess at the local pub with his only friend (David Bradley), and gazing out at the quotidian violence and drug dealing carried out with virtual impunity by the insolent young thugs and lowlifes on the estate grounds. It's a lonely existence that only gets ! sadder when his wife dies and his pal is murdered; and when th! e police inform him that nailing those responsible will be next to impossible, Harry turns dirty. His first killing is in self-defense, but once he gets hold of a gun (obtained from a dealer-junkie in a nightmarishly vivid scene), it is
on, as our "vigilante pensioner" takes no prisoners in his pursuit of street justice. The cops, who are mostly depicted as clueless and thoroughly inept, assume the local gangs are responsible; only Detective Inspector Alice Frampton (Emily Mortimer), about the only one with a brain and a heart, suspects Harry, and she plays an important role as the film careens towards its operatically brutal climax. The scenes of violence are intense but very well staged, and the film's overall look and downbeat color palette effectively convey the sense of squalid hopelessness permeating this stratum of British existence.
Harry Brown isn't a lot of fun, but it will stick with you.
--Sam GrahamSet in modern day Britain,
Harry Brown follo! w's one man's journey through a chaotic world where drugs are the currency of the day and guns run the streets. A modest law-abiding citizen, Harry Brown is a retired Marine and a widower who lives alone on a depressed housing estate. His only company is his best friend Leonard (David Bradley). When Leonard is murdered by a gang of thugs, Harry feels compelled to act and is forced to dispense his own brand of justice. As he bids to clean up the run-down estate where he lives, his actions bring him into conflict with the police, led by investigating officer DCI Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and Charlie Creed-Miles. With its themes of rampant urban decay and crime, mistreatment of the elderly, and vigilantism,
Harry Brown will inevitably be compared to earlier movies from
Death Wish to
Gran Torino. The comparisons are apt, but with the able assistance of Michael Caine in the title role, director Daniel Barber and screenwriter Gary Young's tale stands on its o! wn, grimly but compellingly. Caine's Harry Brown, a retiree an! d former marine, lives alone in a flat in a decrepit London council estate, spending his time visiting his comatose wife in the hospital, playing chess at the local pub with his only friend (David Bradley), and gazing out at the quotidian violence and drug dealing carried out with virtual impunity by the insolent young thugs and lowlifes on the estate grounds. It's a lonely existence that only gets sadder when his wife dies and his pal is murdered; and when the police inform him that nailing those responsible will be next to impossible, Harry turns dirty. His first killing is in self-defense, but once he gets hold of a gun (obtained from a dealer-junkie in a nightmarishly vivid scene), it is
on, as our "vigilante pensioner" takes no prisoners in his pursuit of street justice. The cops, who are mostly depicted as clueless and thoroughly inept, assume the local gangs are responsible; only Detective Inspector Alice Frampton (Emily Mortimer), about the only one with a brain and a! heart, suspects Harry, and she plays an important role as the film careens towards its operatically brutal climax. The scenes of violence are intense but very well staged, and the film's overall look and downbeat color palette effectively convey the sense of squalid hopelessness permeating this stratum of British existence.
Harry Brown isn't a lot of fun, but it will stick with you.
--Sam GrahamUnited Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Music Video, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Set in modern-day Britain, Harry Brown follows one man's (Sir Michael Caine) journey through a chaotic world where drugs are the currency of the day and guns run the streets. ! A modest law-abiding citizen, Harry Brown is a retired Marine ! and a wi dower who lives alone on a depressed housing estate. His only company is his best friend Leonard (David Bradley). When Leonard is murdered by a gang of thugs, Harry feels compelled to act and is forced to dispense his own brand of justice. As he bids to clean up the run-down estate where he lives, his actions bring him into conflict with the police, led by investigating officer DCI Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and Sergeant Hickock (Charlie Creed-Miles). ...Harry BrownThis new adaptation of Thomas Hughes' famous novel tells the tale of a young boy's courage in the face of vicious bullying. Set in Rugby Public School during the mid-1800s, the eponymous Tom transforms from timid, homesick schoolboy to courageous student as he learns to confront his fears, stand up for his friends, and hurdle the obstacles of adolescence.
Tom Brown's Schooldays charts a young boy's first steps towards adulthood as he attends a troubled British school. As Tom Brown (Alex Pettyfer,
Stormbrea! ker) arrives at Rugby Public School, so does the new headmaster, Dr. Arnold (Stephen Fry,
Gosford Park,
Wilde), a man who intends to stamp out the bullying and drunkenness that sow corruption in the school. Brown and Arnold collide, but Brown's true enemy is the brutal Flashman (Joseph Beattie), an upperclassman who dedicates himself to making Brown's life miserable. The adaptation of this classic English novel is extremely abridged (only 93 minutes, as opposed to the almost four-hour 1971 version) and takes some liberties with the story (Flashman's crimes are much more dastardly here). But the results are strong; though the exposition may feel a bit choppy and episodic, the mixing of storylines leads to an emotionally compelling second half. This version retains the novel's greatest strength, the complexity of Tom Brown himself; far from a cardboard icon of virtue, Brown's character allows for both courage and insolence, loyalty and rebelliousness. But th! e movie's greatest strength is Stephen Fry's performance; his ! magnetis m, intelligence, and empathy drive
Tom Brown's Schooldays forward.
--Bret Fetzer
