Review of Get Carter (1971) by Eric R — 21 Dec 2011

After his brother's mysterious death, London Gangster Jack Carter travels to New Castle to investigate leading him to uncover a cover up. Jack Carter is no non sense bad-ass who is really played to perfect by Michael Caine.

He is brass and confident and doesn't take shit from anyone. Basically he is a great character for a type of film in which we follow Jack's every move as he is out for blood against the people he believes responsible for his brothers death.

The leads to both the gangsters in London and in New Castle getting nervous about Carter. It's a gritty look at the British Underworld and it's structure has a lot of realism in the fact that Carter doesnt always go down meaningful avenues when trying to solve the mystery of his brother's death, and routinely hits dead-ends.

The violence is never glamorized but is often very cold, as it is presented as a normal occurrence in Carter's life. Carter character is emotionally detached and extremely violent in getting what he wants.

There is one scene in which Carter shows real emotion dealing with the discovery of his niece being in pornographic films, which is really the turning point in Carter's quest for the truth. Carter is definitely in the same mold as Lee Marvin's character from Point Blank even if the film overall isn't quite on that level.

Besides Cain's central performance, the dialogue is the high point of this film where Carter's tough talk features lots of memorable dialogue. It's a gangster flick that definitely deserves its reputation but I would still say I prefer films like 'The Long Goodbye' or 'Point Blank' when talking about similar themed films.