Review of Brighton Rock (2010) by Fran T — 09 Feb 2011

Many people have been claiming that the latest incarnation of Brighton Rock is completely redundant, primarily because both the original 1947 Boulting brother's film and the Graham Greene novel are regarded as classics, and have proven to stand the test of time to become timeless. This observation that many viewers and critics-alike have made is simply not true, and it truly is just an observation. The problems that the 2011 version of Brighton Rock does have, however, are much more superficial, and cause the film to fail rather than simply be redundant.

As soon as the film begins, we can see that it has been beautifully made. Every shot looks pristine, and the costume design looks perfect. Rowan Joffe and his team have painstakingly re-created 1964 with expert precision and the film looks stunning, reminiscent of the collective work of Anton Corbijn. Every scene is presented beautifully; particularly the use of very low camera angles allows Pinkie to look menacing even before we have encountered him properly.

The plot remains almost completely true to the source materials, although the new setting of 1964 adds a completely different backdrop reminiscent of Quadrophenia, allowing for some intriguing scenes involving shady gangster activity hidden behind a veil of mass brawls on the beach of Brighton. This use of the Mods vs Rockers scenario is really very interesting, however, after seeing the film in its entirety, it seems like the whole updating of the film had been done just for this one scene or device, which really doesn't affect the film as a whole a great deal, no matter how well executed the idea is.

Overall, the scripting is rather mediocre, using some extremely clichéd lines that would make even the most novice of film-goers wince with embarrassment. Had these three or four lines of undesirably formulaic scriptwriting been removed, or even re-written, then the film would have been much more engaging. But it is these clichés that hinder the film from progressing out of the realms of mediocrity and into the sublime, a dizzying height that unfortunately this version of Brighton Rock simply doesn't achieve.

Although the script is rather problematic, the acting reclaims some of ground that the film has lost as a result of the script. Andrea Riseborough expertly portrays Rose with extreme sincerity and it is truly heartbreaking to see her fall victim to the cruel ways of Pinkie. Her performance exudes genuine love and as a consequence of this, the rest of the cast's performance is also lifted above the average. Sam Riley is also excellent as Pinkie; however it is impossible not to compare it to that of Richard Attenborough, whose fiendish folk-devil terrorised the nation upon the original's release. No matter how good Riley is, I don't believe that his performance will have the same effect. He plays the character of Pinkie with a great deal of menace, brutality and misogyny, but simply not to as high a level as Attenborough.

Brighton Rock is a intriguing re-imagining of an old classic, however the incredibly dull and clichéd script disallows the film from being anything more than simply a remake that will no doubt be forgotten after two or three years, which is truly a shame as Riseborough and Riley both give excellent performances with what they are given.