Brighton Rock
2.5/4
Starring: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, John Hurt
Rated R for Violence, Language and Some Sexual Content
There are two words to describe "Brighton Rock:" intense and uneven. The former describes the brilliantly chilling performance by Sam Riley and the tone that he sets for the film. The latter describes the narrative flow, which drags as often as it is suspenseful.
The film is taken from a novel by Graham Green and transported ahead 30 years to the 1960s. A small-time mob boss named Kite (Geoff Bell) is murdered. His underling, the ambitious and malevolent Pinkie (Riley) sees a way to take control of the little gang. But there's a problem. When he got revenge for his boss's murder, he killed the man, named Hale (Sean Harris) instead of scaring him, and there's a witness: a shy young waitress named Rose (Riseborough). He dates her to keep tabs on her, but there are forces are aligning against him: the rival mob boss, Colloni (Serkis) and Rose's boss, Ida (Mirren).
Sam Riley dominates this film. The young actor got great reviews playing the tragic Ian Curtis of Joy Division in "Control" (unseen by me), but he gives a fantastic performance as Pinkie. Pinkie is a vicious gangster, and no act of violence or villainy is beyond him. Using body language and a low but steady voice, Riley is positively frightening. Andrea Risenborough is also good as the vulnerable Rose, who is as much a victim of Pinkie as the people he's killed, although she's not vulnerable enough in the beginning. Helen Mirren is a tough motherly figure who looks out for Rose. Ditto for John Hurt, although his screen time is strictly limited. Andy Serkis, who is one of the most underrated actors around, is deliciously evil as Colloni. It's a brilliant performance that takes away Riley's thunder (although to be fair, Pinkie is just a reactor in said scene).
Unfortunately, director Rowan Joffe (son of Roland Joffe) doesn't have a good grasp of the material. The first twenty minutes or so are confusing until we have the characters figured out. Joffe isn't able to establish a clean narrative flow; some scenes are electric, others (specifically the romance between Pinkie and Rose) are dull. The biggest problem however is his attempts to humanize Pinkie. Whether this was in the book or not, I don't know since I haven't read it. Either way, the film is dealt a real blow because it robs him a lot of his menace.
It almost pains me to not be able to give this a confident recommendation. Riley's performance is one that deserves to be seen (he is playing Sal Paradise in Walter Salles' upcoming "On the Road"). There are some scenes that do truly work, particularly at the beginning and the end. But really, this is too troubled a film for me to say that you should pick it up from Blockbuster. Unless you're a Hollywood producer. Then watch it and cast Riley in more movies.
Starring: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, John Hurt
Rated R for Violence, Language and Some Sexual Content
There are two words to describe "Brighton Rock:" intense and uneven. The former describes the brilliantly chilling performance by Sam Riley and the tone that he sets for the film. The latter describes the narrative flow, which drags as often as it is suspenseful.
The film is taken from a novel by Graham Green and transported ahead 30 years to the 1960s. A small-time mob boss named Kite (Geoff Bell) is murdered. His underling, the ambitious and malevolent Pinkie (Riley) sees a way to take control of the little gang. But there's a problem. When he got revenge for his boss's murder, he killed the man, named Hale (Sean Harris) instead of scaring him, and there's a witness: a shy young waitress named Rose (Riseborough). He dates her to keep tabs on her, but there are forces are aligning against him: the rival mob boss, Colloni (Serkis) and Rose's boss, Ida (Mirren).
Sam Riley dominates this film. The young actor got great reviews playing the tragic Ian Curtis of Joy Division in "Control" (unseen by me), but he gives a fantastic performance as Pinkie. Pinkie is a vicious gangster, and no act of violence or villainy is beyond him. Using body language and a low but steady voice, Riley is positively frightening. Andrea Risenborough is also good as the vulnerable Rose, who is as much a victim of Pinkie as the people he's killed, although she's not vulnerable enough in the beginning. Helen Mirren is a tough motherly figure who looks out for Rose. Ditto for John Hurt, although his screen time is strictly limited. Andy Serkis, who is one of the most underrated actors around, is deliciously evil as Colloni. It's a brilliant performance that takes away Riley's thunder (although to be fair, Pinkie is just a reactor in said scene).
Unfortunately, director Rowan Joffe (son of Roland Joffe) doesn't have a good grasp of the material. The first twenty minutes or so are confusing until we have the characters figured out. Joffe isn't able to establish a clean narrative flow; some scenes are electric, others (specifically the romance between Pinkie and Rose) are dull. The biggest problem however is his attempts to humanize Pinkie. Whether this was in the book or not, I don't know since I haven't read it. Either way, the film is dealt a real blow because it robs him a lot of his menace.
It almost pains me to not be able to give this a confident recommendation. Riley's performance is one that deserves to be seen (he is playing Sal Paradise in Walter Salles' upcoming "On the Road"). There are some scenes that do truly work, particularly at the beginning and the end. But really, this is too troubled a film for me to say that you should pick it up from Blockbuster. Unless you're a Hollywood producer. Then watch it and cast Riley in more movies.
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