A British gangster is killed by a rival, better connected syndicate and Pinkie Brown, a ruthless upstart hood, is assigned along with his fellow goons to rough up the perpetrators. However, before Pinkie goes to far and bludgeons one to death under the boardwalk, the victim has his picture taken with an accomplice and an innocent young waitress. Now Pinkie aims to seduce the young girl not only to retrieve evidence, but to possibly silence her forever and carry out his own death wish. "Brighton Rock" is a flawed film that I found myself enjoying in spite of itself. The novel by hard boiled writer Graham Greene is not given a good treatment by writer/director Rowan Joffe, and many developments seem rushed and lacking credibility. The feel of the movie is right though, and Joffe's dark palette helps give the film an ominous neo-noir quality. The actor's are incredibly good as well. Up and comer Sam Riley is menacing as the heartless hood and Andrea Riseborough is scary in her naivety as the young waitress who falls madly and blindly in love with Riley. Old pro Helen Mirren is so good here as the restaurant owner who fights to save the young girl, and John Hurt is good as well in a lesser role as a local bar owner and love interest for Mirren. Despite not being able to buy many character choices and developments, I found myself enjoying this film, especially towards the end which wraps up like a bow, nice and twisted.
