Harry Brown Analysis February 27, 2014

frail

nothing to lose

routine dull lifestyle

isolated

fearful morals

hides away house proud

lonelycaringselfless

Questions:

1. List the codes and conventions of a crime film.

2. What adjectives could you use to describe Noel?

3. What possible audience responses could there be?

REVENGE

SOCIAL

Contemporary  situa/on

Everyday  characters    

Urban  drama  

Struggle  to  survive  

REALISM

Bloodbath

Vigilante  jus/ce  

Counter  cultural  pleasure  

GENRE

Harry Brown Analysis February 27, 2014

reven

ge fil

m

socia

l reali

sm

Application?

What  are  audience  expecta/ons  of  the  revenge  film?

Murder,  Widower,  Council  Estate,  Drug  Dealer,  Police  Raid,  Hospital,  Sword,  Inves/ga/on,  Drug  Overdose,  Ex  Soldier,  Pub,  London,  England,  Gun  Crime,  Stab  Wound,  Shoo/ng,  Mugger,  Gang,  Interroga/on,  Youth  Crime,  Chess,  Police  Pensioner,  Mobile  Phone,  Vigilante,  Riot,  Arrest,  Revenge,  Molotov  Cocktail,  Funeral,  Gun,  Character  Name  In  Title.

Which  of  these  are  the  following  classic  elements  of  the  Crime  genre  that  feature  in  Harry  Brown?

Famous  actor  

How  do  these  elements  of  Filming  Style  contribute  to  

Social  Realism?

Ligh;ng

Se<ngs  

Hand  held  camera  

Key words:

naturalis*c  ligh*ng Aylesbury  Estate  immerse

Harry Brown Analysis February 27, 2014

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  OPENING  SEQUENCE

CAMERA/EDITING

MISE-EN-SCÈNE SOUND

How does the sequence communicate messages/values?

P

E

E

1 2 3

45

who?

how?

why?

Representa)on

Harry Brown Analysis February 27, 2014

Lack of.....morals

respect role modelsthings to do

moneyhope

BINARY OPPOSITESThe narrative is driven by opposing forces clashing

with each other.

Good

Evil

YouthOld age

Police

Criminal

Fear

Security

Truth

Lies

?Questions in the

narrative

ENIGMA CODE

!I know what will

happen next

ACTION CODE

Harry Brown Analysis February 27, 2014

So one argument could be that...

Harry Brown is a pseudo social-realism film wanting to be taken seriously. The depiction of the young out-of-control criminals is absurdly over-the-top from the very beginning. Harry states that the young thugs simply do what they do for entertainment and the film is happy to exploit and then continue to perpetrate this nasty stereotype of the evil, predatory juvenile delinquency. This is finger wagging at the youth of today at its most extreme and reactionary. The young criminals are represented as either obscenely arrogant, aggressive sociopaths or pathetic, desperate junky scum. Harry Brown is cinema for outraged talkback radio callers and tabloid readers as it revels in blatant fear mongering.

A Moral Panic is something identified by the media that emerges to be a threat to society's values/ideologies.

Often stereotypes are used.