Brighton Rock (www.the-usher.com)

"But I love you Pinkie"

When Crab (Robertson) is killed by Colleoni’s (Serkis) men, Pinkie (Riley) sees this as his chance to take over the protection racket gang he was running. With only Spicer (Davis) standing in his way, he decides to send Mr. Colleoni a message by killing Hale (Harris), the man who stabbed Crab to death. He did not expect a witness to his revenge however but as he gets close to Rose (Riseborough) to keep her quiet, he starts to draw the attention of the police, Rose’s employer Ida (Mirren) and Mr Colleoni himself. As the Mods and the Rockers descend on Brighton beach, Pinkie’s hand maybe forced as he becomes cornered by all the forces around him.

A remake is a tricky thing to pull off and when you are remaking what is considered to be a classic British film, you will have your work cut out for you but can ‘Brighton Rock’ succeed in retelling the beloved Graham Greene story?

Author, playwright, screenwriter and literary critic Graham Greene has been a source for the British film industry for decades and Hollywood also took note. Adaptations of his novels and original screenplays have given us ‘The End of the Affair’, ‘The Quiet American’, ‘The Third Man’, ‘The Comedians’, ‘Our Man in Havana’, to name but a few. Back in 1947 an adaptation of one of his novels quickly became a classic of the era and a breakout role for an actor who would become a British legend, Richard Attenborough. That film was ‘Brighton Rock’ and it set the standard for British gangster movies. Now screenwriter turned director Rowan Joffe, who penned ’28 Weeks Later’ and the George Clooney hit man character piece ‘The American’, brings us an updates retelling of the Graham Greene tale but moves us from the 30s to the 60s.

The story is basically about the rise and fall of a teenage gangster pushing to make a name for himself in 60s Brighton. After the leader of a petty protection gang taken out by local rivals representing mobster Mr. Colleoni, Pinkie Brown sees an opportunity to muscle and maneuver his way in and become the head of the local protection racket. Dishing out a bloody revenge on the man who killed his boss, Pinkie is forced make sure a witness keeps quiet about what she saw but he does not expect that Rose will fall for him. With Mr. Colleoni taking exception to Pinkie’s gesturing, the police closing in and his relationship with Rose causing suspicious to her employer Ida, the young man is slowly getting pushed into a corner where all he can do is attack. The shift from the 30s to the 60s by writer/director Joffe has allowed the film feature a time of youth rebellion. The youth riots of 1964 that plagued the south coast of England serves as a backdrop and a reason for Pinkie’s sudden boost of confidence, with the classes between the Mods, the Rockers and the police serving as fuel to Pinkie’s fire. Even with the Brighton riots been covered in the cult classic British film ‘Quadrophenia’, as a motivational plot device, it works well.

Any adaptation of Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’ would be nothing with a superb cast and Rowan Joffe has certainly gathered together a fine set of British talent. Bringing some class to the proceedings are Helen Mirren as Ida, the women who has a score to settle and Rose to protect and John Hurt as Phill, the man who tries to keep Ida grounded. There is an excellent small role for Andy Serkis as Mr. Colleoni and Sean Harris as Pinkie’s target for revenge, Hale. Phil Davis is also excellent as Spicer, the man standing between Pinkie and the leadership of the gang. The film is all about the performances of Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough as Pinkie and Rose however and the two do enough to keep you interested. Sam Riley really made a splash playing ‘Joy Division’ lead singer Ian Curtis in ‘Control’ but while Richard Attenborough was a twenty-four year old playing a teenager, Riley at thirty struggles to convince he is still in teen years but this takes nothing away from the performance. Andrea Riseborough is also a lot older than the character she is playing but as Rose she shows again that his is an actress to watch.

While remakes are becoming the norm of the film industry, there are occasions were a story can brought to a contempory audience and still have something to say. This latest version of ‘Brighton Rock’ works simply because of the strength of the Graham Greene story and the performances from the cast. The decision to move the setting from the 30s to the 60s is not needed however but this is still another excellent example of British drama.

Special Features:

Commentary with Director Rowan Joffe and Editor Joe Walker
Cast and Crew Interviews
Mod or Rocker Featurette
Anatomy of a Scene - The Making of the Record
Reflections on the Boulting's Brighton Rock
Alternative Opening Sequence Storyboard
Mods and Rockers (1964) - short film Directed by Kenneth Hume

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2011