BFI Film Academy - Film Review

Brighton Rock (1947) Crime Drama Director: John Boulting (Other films include Heavens Above!, Private Progress and Seven Days to Noon) Stars: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell and Carol Marsh Storyline Pinkie Brown is a small time gang hoodlum that runs a protection racket at Brighton race course. But when a rival; fred, comes to town, Pinkie orders his murder. This is then placed as suicide with the police

closing the case however Ida Arnold (who was with Fred before his death) is not so convinced and sets out to find the truth. Rose is a young waitress who can prove that Freds death was in fact a murder. In order to keep her quiet, Pinkie marries her. As time goes on Pinkies gang becomes doubtful of his ability, losing faith. Pinkie becomes desperate and more violent.

Brighton Rock appears on the BFI Top 100 British Films (no.15) list that was drawn together by a survey of 1000 people from the world of British film and television. Review

Brighton Rock throughout the film had essences of a noir thriller formula, in terms of its style and narrative. At the time Brighton was a popular British holiday resort and hive for tourism. Brighton Rock depicts a much more darker side of Brighton that could be found through the alleys and rough gang areas of which Pinkie and his gang resides. We do see the normalised Brighton within the film but the flip side that subverts the common perception of the city is what makes it more exciting and memorable. The film as a whole is an exceptionally great British film. Technically a very beautiful film, the performances sublime and the story and themes throughout clever. It is definitely a must watch film. Pinkie is a complex character portrayed by a young, fresh faced Richard Attenborough (A British Orson Welles if you will) thats performance in the film is next to none. Pinkie is a gang leader that tends to carry out the dirty work himself, his favoured method is to strangle the victim with his death string. This is a very close intimate act of killing someone which explains his psychotic nature. Pinkie the fallen Catholic that doesnt smoke or drink, a very intriguing character.

A particular aspect of the filmmaking which I enjoyed is the introduction of the character Pinkie at the start of the film. His gang sat around the kitchen table, the newspaper reveals that rival Fred coming back in town. The gang are debating on the matter, Dallow (William Hartnell) goes up the flight of stairs to show Pinkie the news as the rest look on. As Dallow enters Pinkies bedroom the cameras focal point is on Pinkies hands that is doing a neat movement with the string that he uses to strangle victims. This shot is a point of view shot that the audience can see Dallow entering the room presenting the paper, as Pinkie realises he stops messing with the string and the next shot is a medium close up of Pinkies face. I really enjoyed this part because of the way Pinkie is revealed, I also got a sense of the mobsters attitudes towards him and I thought it was a really cool way to introduce the character.

Freds death was a well thought out scene that was most memorable for the shot types and editing. The pace of editing as Fred was being pursued through the alleyways was a fairly steady pace but the angles and different shot types made it much more disorientating. As he leaves the quiet alleyways he enters a more public area. what I enjoyed about the chase is the quick pan to reveal Pinkies mobsters waiting for him. The chase was long and I felt involved with Freds desire to get away from the mobsters after him. The record kiosk scene is one of the most heartbreaking points of the film that really demonstrates to the audiences the two characters of Rose and Pinkie. Persuaded by Rose to record a message to her, Pinkie enters the kiosk. The composition is very close with Pinkie on the left side of the screen with his hand holding the voice recording device tenderly and Rose looking up at him dotingly in between the frame of Pinkies arm and the structure of the kiosk.

Pinkie Brown [In a recording booth, making a disc for the doting, oblivious Rose] You wanted a recording of my voice, well here it is. What you want me to say is, I love you. Well I dont. I hate you, you little slut Pinkies recording is an obvious reflection of his character. Focusing on Rose the word naive wil l appear in every description of this character. She is naive and oblivious to the fact that she is being used by Pinkie who doesnt care about her. Her naive nature gives her a child like state like a lamb. Lamb in a religious context reminds us of the parable of the lost sheep. The lost sheep represented a lost human which is what Rose falls under. She has lost her way and has ended up in the thorny grasp that surrounds Rose, Ida is the hand of God that can free her from the illusion Pinkie has created for Rose. I really enjoy this scene of the film because of the composition of the shot and the performance. Its a well crafted part of the film that is important to the story and plays with the audiences emotions. I found it both shocking and brilliant. Brighton Rock is a well crafted piece of art, A great example of a classic British film. The setting for this crime drama initially for myself was slightly in question however it really did work and I wanted there to be more British films of a similar nature to Brighton Rock. It was a good cinema experience and is worthy of its place in the top one hundred British films.

Jordan Benjamin Reynolds