Brighton Rock (2010) Film Review

Over sixty years on from John Boulting’s original noir, Rowan Joffe resurrects Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, fittingly setting it within the context of 1964’s moral panic. Pinkie Brown (Sam Riley) is an ambitious gangster, who hunts child-like waitress Rose (Andrea Riseborough) after she witnesses him prior to committing murder. Forming an ambiguous relationship, the masochistic Rose, having been neglected by her mother Ida (Helen Mirren), loves Pinkie unquestioningly, compromising her own virtue for his staggering moral shortfall. Riley is exceptional as the religiously tormented Pinkie, switching disconcertingly from conflicted boyish charmer, to genuinely frightening psychopath.

Adhering firmly to Greene’s 'shades of grey' Catholic themes, sinister shots of Brighton's pier and pavilion add to the looming institutionalised atmosphere. Despite this, the Quadrophenia-style turmoil within the era's seaside resort seems as clichéd as the moon landings within a 60s montage. Also unnecessary is the overt focus on Mirren’s guilt-ridden Ida. Although excellent, it suffocates the pivotal central relationship, which by the end feels under-developed.