Get Carter

London criminal Michael Caine returns to Newcastle for his straight-arrow brother's funeral. The police say he got drunk and killed himself in a driving accident, but little bits don't add up. Caine pokes around Newcastle's dirtier side and becomes convinced it was a murder. But who and why?

It's a thoroughly unlikable movie, from Caine's seething performance through Wolfgang Suchitsky's overcast Technicolor lighting through the apathetic and evil people who inhabit the movie's world. At the same time, this neo-noir take on the Elizabethan Revenge drama is a brilliant exposition on the dark side. There's no one to admire here, no dark humor. The people in charge are not misfits. John Osborne, as a local crook, isn't a man oppressed by his environment, searching for a meaning that isn't there. He's a smart man who has judged his society accurately and coldly applied its rules to his own profit.

Caine's self-loathing rage is likewise efficiently applied. The police won't come and save anyone, they won't avenge anyone, they won't restore order by finding the bad guys. They are almost unseen, a howling car showing up too late, unable to stop or even notice Caine's spree. There is no justice, just revenge, and application of the rule that mad dogs must be put down.

GET CARTER is the anti-Hollywood gangster movie, a film which strips away the glitz and glamour one usually associates with the genre to deliver one of the grimmest-looking movies ever. The north eastern locations are wonderfully used with this being a very visual movie that really brings out the grubby dirtiness of an industrial wasteland.

The characters, too, are grim. Michael Caine is the epitome of the anti-hero, a man just as cold, violent, and ruthless as those he pursues, except the viewer happens to be tagging along with him on his odyssey of revenge. The film's narrative has a mystery storyline as Caine attempts to uncover the circumstances surrounding his brother's death, and the supporting cast - including a memorable Ian Hendry - is exemplary.

Being a film from the 1970s, the sex and violence is ramped up, particularly the former in an arresting phone sex scene with Britt Ekland. Caine is on top form, delivering what I believe to be his most frightening performance, and the script offers up some real corkers in terms of the dialogue. In fact, GET CARTER is a film which it's very difficult to criticise; everything about it gels together perfectly, and it's a real classic for a reason. Mike Hodges should be proud of his accomplishments here.

Michael Caine stars in "Get Carter," a 1971 film co-produced by Caine, who was sick of the parts he was getting. Well, the role of Carter is certainly a terrific part. Ian Hendry and John Osborne also star.

Carter, a London gangster, returns to his home town of Newcastle for his brother's funeral. When he is offered a ticket out of town, his suspicion about his brother's death grows stronger. His investigation leads him to a pornography ring and lots of bad guys.

There's lots of violence in this film as Carter dispenses with anyone who's in his way without even blinking. He's mean as they come. Caine is fantastic, and he's surrounded by effective evil-doers.

There's nudity, too, as well as phone sex. If you like this type of gangster movie, you'll love this. Well-directed by Mike Hodges.

Jack Carter, the reserved London gangster, travels north to Newcastle, his home town, to find the cause of his brother's death. He's warned by his bosses not to go, but refuses to obey them. We, and he, discover the reasons for the warning, which are intertwined with the details of his brother's fate, and watch Carter's quest for revenge reach its logical conclusion. The underworld life sets a kitschy vision of glamour - music-box decanter sets, flashy bespoke suits, and garishly decorated villas - against the grotty reality of arcade slot machines, pornographic 8mm films, and the claustrophobic grubbiness of Newcastle's industrial tenements. Carter, who prides himself on a style of detached shrewdness, navigates both worlds, until he discovers that they're intertwined, sickeningly. The corruption which provides him his living has tainted his own family. I think the centre of the film is the brilliant moment when Carter sits in bed in the flickering light of a projector, discovering the truth about his world. He weeps, silently, knowing what he must now do. But vengeance is all he knows, and it consumes him.

This story captures with great subtlety the coarse truths about poverty, and crime, which are as true today in Canada and the US as they were forty years ago in England. There's no heroism, no loyalty, no glamour. We feel a kind of sorrowful revulsion at the squalid reality of Carter's world, even as we fear the intensity of his quest for his brother's killers. And we realise we've seen a perfect film of its kind - exceptionally skillful acting, cinematography and editing, bringing to life a taut script. Never again will we fall for the false romanticism of crime.

This film has a stunning Michael Caine play cold-blooded gangster Jack Carter on a quest for vengeance. Carter never wavers, he never strays from his path, he is like a surgical instrument that cuts down everything in his way with clinical precision without passion or mercy. If the Terminator were a human character, he would be Carter. Alfred he is not (hint: that's a Batman reference) . One of the best British crime flicks ever. 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495