Review: Brighton Rock

Audiences may not be aware of Graham Greene’s 1938 novel thriller Brighton Rock, or its original 1947 adaptation starring Richard Attenborough. Even those who berate filmmakers for constantly returning to the same old wells of inspiration with remake after reboot after sequel can’t fault director and screenwriter Rowan Joffe for making another version; 64 years is a long time! What can be faulted, however, is Joffe’s handling of the material, which certainly doesn’t live up to the precedent set by the Boulting Brothers’ 1947 version.

Rowan Joffe is the son of Roland Joffe, Oscar-nominated director of The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986). The younger Joffe is primarily known as a screenwriter, having worked within the British film industry since Last Resort in 2000. He also wrote 28 Weeks Later (2007) and The American (2010). With Brighton Rock he has followed in his father’s footsteps and become a director. For a first timer he certainly has a knack for crafting a beautiful visual experience.

Most impressive of all the film’s technical aspects is the production design by James Merifield. This is Merifield’s first work on a feature film and he has done a fantastic job of not only recreating the period, but also doing so in such a fashion that it really pops. Brighton’s Palace Pier, so important to the story, is a bedazzling visual with its mass of fairy lights dotting its edge, as well as the dark and twisted thicket of pillars beneath. It’s not hard to see the metaphor of Brighton itself that this particular set conjures up. Julian Day continues his fabulous run of little-recognised costume work, too, after other titles Boy A (2007), My Summer of Love (2004) and The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009). If the film’s picking-and-choosing of time periods resulted in any particular benefit it was the work of these two individuals.

The film itself was shot partially in Brighton, as well as Eastbourne, a nearby town. The cliffsides, carnival pier and vespa-lined streets that fill the film are handsomely returned to the 1960s look. While I am not sure why the film’s era was changed from the original story’s 1930s setting other than for convenience, they at least do a good job at building it. There’s a particular curiosity to be found in watching a pack of thugs ride around on pastel-coloured vespas like they’re vacationing in Tuscany.

Another interesting aspect of the period change is the inclusion of Nonso Anozie (Atonement, RocknRolla), the only black character in the film (and originally written as white for the 1930s). Another film, with stronger desire to tell his story, could have been fascinating, but as it is the interest is still piqued. That Anozie’s character of Dallow becomes a near hero is furthermore proof that Joffe should have utilised his shift in time to really investigate the changes Britain had gone through between the 1930s and the 1960s.

Ida Arnold (Helen Mirren) and Phil Corkery (Ian Hurt)

Sam Riley stars as Pinkie Brown, the sociopathic leader of one of the many gangs that roam the Brighton streets. Having impressed many with his performance in Anton Corbijn’s (The American) Ian Curtis biopic Control, Riley has been sadly cool on the acting front. Hopefully this lead role, even if it isn’t as fine as Control, and his upcoming role in Walter Salles’ On the Road will give him the taste for it once again. Everyone already knows who Helen Mirren and John Hurt are and while their presence in a film is always nice, it’s such a shame they lacquered up Mirren’s face with so much ridiculous clown make-up.

The character of Rose is much more the star of Joffe’s version, as opposed to the weaker, more shy interpretation of the character by Carol Marsh in 1947. Andrea Riseborough has launched many a pun with her name matched alongside her status as a major rising star in British entertainment. Having mostly worked on TV, including a stint as Margaret Thatcher – beating Meryl Streep’s The Iron Lady to the punch – in Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley, Riseborough graduated to feature films in Mike Leigh’s Oscar-nominated Happy-Go-Lucky (2008). It was 2010, however, that saw her cast in Made in Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, Brighton Rock and the upcoming W.E., the story of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, directed by Madonna.

Rose (Andrea Riseborough) and Pinkie (Sam Riley)

As Rose, the girl Pinkie must romance in order to keep from implicating his gang in a murder, Riseborough has some wonderful tricks and layers that keep audiences guessing as to her motivations and feelings. While her attraction to Riley’s Pinkie is, perhaps, undeveloped, it’s easy to see her as being emotionally manhandled by Pinkie even if she is smarter than she looks.

Joffe’s removal of the story from the classical theatricality of the 1930s to the more contemporary and hip aesthetic of the 1960s just doesn’t work in all the ways he may have intended. Other changes such as the back-story of Helen Mirren’s Ida and the removal of the entire “Kolley Kibber” subplot don’t work when seen how well they were done in 1947. Unfortunately, the original is unavailable in Australia, so for now all we have is Joffe’s version and while I cannot recommend it like I would original, it does have many aspects that will surely interest fans of the local arthouse.