Brightest Young Things

Based on the Graham Greene novel of the same name, Brighton Rock is a wholly unpleasant experience. I do not mean to say the movie is poorly directed or acted: writer/director Rowan Joffe has a flair for brooding imagery, and there are performances from some of the best British actors in the business. But the main character is a contemptible monster and his most important relationship is so unbelievable, it reaches the point of parody. Some scenes ooze with tension, while others are unintentionally funny. Joffe intriguingly explores Greene’s ideas by setting his film in a different time period, yet the movie’s fundamental flaw brings down the entire production along with it.

Pinkie (Sam Riley) is an up-and-coming gangster who dreams of controlling Brighton and its local businesses. His methods are ruthless – he murders a rival when he was instructed only to maim him – and now Pinkie must clean up the mess.  Rose (Andrea Riseborough), a mousy young woman, can identify the victim, so Pinkie clumsily seduces her then tells her stay quiet. The unlikely pair develops an odd relationship, one based on necessity and delusion, which fills Pinkie with disgust. A couple of old-timers, Ida (Helen Mirren) and Phil (John Hurt), catch onto his nefarious motives, and try to save Rose from him. They may be too late, however, since Rose’s love consumes her.

An important difference between the 2011 version and the 1947 adaptation – aside from the fact that Greene co-wrote the latter – is the time setting. Joffe sets the action in 1964, using the back-drop of youth riots to add further context. Aside from great Mod costumes, the relatively modern update does little to connect us with what happens. Pinkie remains a loathsomely sinister bastard, and unlike other anti-heroes, he is never mesmerizing. He slithers on screen and refuses to leave, my discomfort grows; it does not help that he primarily fights with knives, which adds a gruesome quality to the action. Riley plays Pinkey fearlessly – there is little attempt to humanize him, and his scenes with Riseborough are breathtakingly cruel – yet it stretches the imagination to believe Rose is under his spell.  Joffe uses Catholic imagery to add nuance to their relationship. Still, close-ups of a crucifix and a punishingly loud choir soundtrack do not explain an undeveloped relationship, nor does it illustrate Pinkie and Rose’s empty piety, as Greene originally intended.

Like the characters they portray, the older actors offer relief from  Pinkie’s single-mindedness. Hurt and Mirren, always dependable, are a flirtatious highlight. They quietly exude world-weariness and later provide the audience its much-needed moral compass. The bizarre climax takes place along Brighton’s dramatic cliffs (it would be waste to set it anywhere else), and Mirren’s force of will adds a little suspense to what happens between Rose and Pinkie. Other supporting players do not fare as well. Philip Davis plays Spicer, Pinkie’s tortured accomplice, who never achieves the pathos the story requires. And as Pinkie’s rival mob boss, Andy Serkis gets tension-killing laughs through his over-the-top, affected demeanor.

On some level, I suppose Brighton Rock is a success. Thanks to Riley’s performance, Pinkey is a repulsive creature who never elicits any sympathy. Scenes with Rose have a sickly quality – there are times where I feared for her – yet Joffe is so successful that I disengaged from the action. Mirren and the others offer some from relief, but only because their presence meant that Pinkie was elsewhere. Anti-heroes can be mesmerizing. Another Greene adaptation, The Quiet American, perfectly illustrates how deplorable characters burrow can into our minds, forcing us to question or values. But when Pinkie gets what’s coming to him, there is no relief or catharsis. Instead, I was just glad the movie would soon be over.

Previously in Another Movie Guy?:

• 9/16: Movie Review: "The Interrupters."
• 9/16: Movie Review: "Straw Dogs."
• 8/31: Movie Review: "The Debt."
• 8/26: Movie Review: "Pianomania."
• 8/19: Movie Review: "The Names of Love."
• 8/19: Movie Review: "Attack the Block."
• 8/12: Movie Review: "The Guard."
• 8/12: Movie Review: "30 Minutes or Less."
• 8/5: Movie Review: "The Devil's Double."
• 8/5: "HE SAID" Movie Review: "The Future."