Brighton Rock (DVD)

...google and you should see Brighton Rock in every list. Surprised? At least I was. Of all the Get Carters, Sexy Beasts and Lock Stocks I've come across through the years, I must insist that after watching Brighton Rock, there is something exceptionally endearing about this film.

For one, Richard Attenborough gives a good turn as one of the most villainous characters I've ever seen on screen. True to the Graham Greene novel from which ...
...mob of Pinkie in gangland Brighton during the pre-war years. His hoodlums get caught in a territorial fight and their positions are threatened by a slip-up involving a messy murder. In steps the innocent waitress Rose (Carol Marsh) who holds the key to the cover-up and Ida (Hermione Baddeley) the nosy old prostitute who threatens to reveal all. As Pinkie's protection racket is undermined by a rival faction, he also faces incrimination for the imperfect ... more

Ever wondered what are the top ten best British gangster flicks of all time? Give it a google and you should see Brighton Rock in every list. Surprised? At least I was. Of all the Get Carters, Sexy Beasts and Lock Stocks I've come across through the years, I must insist that after watching Brighton Rock, there is something exceptionally endearing about this film.

For one, Richard Attenborough gives a good turn as one of the most villainous characters I've ever seen on screen. True to the Graham Greene novel from which this was based, he has few if not no saving graces about him at all. Unlike other popular villains in gangster films, Pinkie Brown doesn't even have a sense of humour or does anything remotely humane in the film at all. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't even listen to music or anything like that. Without a doubt, Pinkie is one nasty customer with some serious issues.

The film follows the mob of Pinkie in gangland Brighton during the pre-war years. His hoodlums get caught in a territorial fight and their positions are threatened by a slip-up involving a messy murder. In steps the innocent waitress Rose (Carol Marsh) who holds the key to the cover-up and Ida (Hermione Baddeley) the nosy old prostitute who threatens to reveal all. As Pinkie's protection racket is undermined by a rival faction, he also faces incrimination for the imperfect murder and decides to marry the poor girl to gain her allegiance. Worse, he manipulates and murders anyone who gets in his way and it is through this, that the menacing character of Pinkie Brown is terrorisingly depicted to perfection.

The film doesn't quite dwell on the psychological anomaly of Pinkie as much as the book but it does serve to discuss the notion of religion, salvation and moral relevance against a backdrop of crime. Without being a tedious Ingmar-esque character study, the film manages to portray the motivation and behaviour of all its characters in an interesting way. The texture of the film is wonderfully made. Some chilling camera close-ups on Attenborough's face suggest a Hitchcockian style of filming that makes this an excellent thriller indeed.

The DVD of this film has no special features and is not much different than that offered free by The Daily Telegraph recently. It should be all over eBay now for a bargain price and I highly recommend this thriller to anybody who is interested in this genre.

And one more thing -if you become interested enough in Pinkie's character after watching this, get the book and find out about the ending which this film wasn't allowed to show!

Thank you for your time.

***---Yet another easy-to-read HabitualDamnation review---***
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