Brighton Rock (1948)

“You see the gold on them furnitures? Napoleon stayed here with Eugenie.” – Colleoni

Number of Times Seen – 1 (19 Jul 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A ruthless gangster plots to kill a reporter whose article he believes caused the death of a friend.

My Take on it – This is a film that I decided to watch in my attempt to see more films starring Richard Attenborough.

Here is a perfect example of a mediocre film that is helped along by a very impressive performance yet even that is limited in how much it can change the way that things are perceived.

Attenborough truly is cringe worthy in the lead role and really is able to take this character to the edge in all that he does.

The way that the story plays out comes across as a typical gangster film without adding anything to it that would help make it even more thrilling.

Things come across as being quite erratic and strange in the way that they move along and this is quite problematic because it takes so much away from enjoying this kind of performance.

The film fails to develop any of the characters well enough and even the led character lacks some kind of an explanation for his actions along the way.

The actions of the characters are quite strange and irrational and that hurts trying to get a better understanding of why things happen as they do and the only answer is that i shows how off the wall crazy he truly is.

This shows how great an actor Attenborough was because he does a great job with this characters despite a very generic and mediocre script.

Bottom Line – Generic gangster film that is elevated by the outstanding performance by Attenborough who takes this character to the edge.  The story itself is a bit erratic and strange in its portrayal of things which is somewhat problematic. The characters aren’t developed at all and even the lead by Attenborough lacks rational motivation in all that he does.  The story moves in some interesting ways and the way that this character plots his moves is a strange and irrational way which shows how crazy he truly is.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Filming took place in Brighton using hidden cameras in amongst the real-life crowds. This was mainly because the Brighton authorities objected to the way their town was being depicted as a haven for gangsters. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

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