Harry Brown (2009)

Director: Daniel Barber

Cast: Michael Caine as Harry Brown, Emily Mortimer as D.I. Alice Frampton, Charlie Creed-Miles as D.S. Terry Hicock, David Bradley as Leonard Attwell, Iain Glen as S.I. Childs, Sean Harris as Stretch, Ben Drew as Noel Winters, Jack O'Connell as Marky, Jamal Downey as Carl, Lee Oakes as Dean, Joseph Gilgun as Kenny, Liam Cunningham as Sid Rourke, Marva Alexander as Nurse #1, Forbes KB as Troy Martindale, Liz Daniels as Kath

To herald Harry Brown as a film that every person should see is a
watershed moment for the way the UK likes to portray itself. When I was
younger, I was told about what's good and bad, right and wrong and
perhaps more importantly, how to deal with injustice and how not to
turn a blind eye to it. Only last week, a film with similar 'citizen
turns vigilante against thugs' was banned from cinema screens in its
home city of Nottingham for fear of a violent backlash and reprisals,
such was the brutal, yet unsparing depiction of Nottingham's gang
culture. And the difference between that and Harry Brown is? Earlier
this year, I had the honour seeing the debut film of a largely unknown
award-winning filmmaker based in Stratford - the home of the 2012
Olympics - the shiny side of London. Stick with Me (directed by Bernard
Kordieh) is an uncompromising tale about brotherhood, confronting the
viewer with the brutal reality of life in London's inner cities – very
much in the mould of Harry Brown. Judging by the hype surrounding Harry
Brown and the record attendance who saw Stick with Me make its'
premiere at the British Urban Film Festival last month, what is clear
is that Harry Brown (and similar films) has a far more prominent role
to play in public life, making us all think about what our roles as
citizens are. Simply put, Harry Brown is very much a film which does
exactly what it says on the tin and Sir Michael is magnificent.