Review of Get Carter (1971) by Richard N — 08 Feb 2015

London hard-man Jack Carter sets out to avenge his brother's gang related murder, and gets inextricably drawn into the seedy underbelly of Northern Gangland culture. Woven into what is an essentially dark and depressing tale are a few lighter moments, Carter's various romantic exploits providing most of these until one of his conquests ends up at the bottom of the Tyne. Carter's a sort of gangland version of Alfie, essentially. His live for the moment attitude befitting his choice of profession.

The cinematography is noteworthy as is the lighting, both very competently handled. The simplicity of the score belies it's brilliance and really sets the tone of the movie giving it a distinctive 70's feel. The film depicts a largely bleak and barren landscape, cleverly reinforcing Carter's isolation in an alien hostile environment, while delivering affectionate visual reminders of a Newcastle long since disappeared. The scenes in and around the North East are atmospheric and conjure up a more innocent age, juxtaposing with the violent sequences making the film seem all the more gritty and shocking.

The hunter ultimately becomes the hunted, a hit man sent to finish the job carries out his orders with deadly efficiency. Carter's demise, seems somehow a fitting end, there's a kind of inevitability about it even though it was an unusual twist for the leading man to be killed off, especially in Hollywood movies, but this signalled a departure from the accepted 'formula' and a new realism in British film making. Caine has seldom been better. One of my all time top 20 movies.