Brighton Rock is a murder thriller that takes place in the 1960s set against the backdrop of the British Youth Riots. Pinkie, the young leader of a small gang, has his eyes set on becoming one of the Kingpins of Brighton Pier and is willing to take whatever actions necessary to attain that goal.
Pinkie (played by newcomer Sam Riley) is a slick, stoic, and cold protagonist caught up in a murder he committed out of revenge. Rose (Andrea Riseborough), a humdrum waitress at a local teashop is the only potential witness to Pinkie’s crime. Because of this, Pinkie spends the entirety of the film trying to woo her and demonstrates his love for her even though he secretly despises her.
Ida (Helen Mirren), who owns the shop where Rose works and was friends with the man Pinkie murdered, serves as the investigative force trying to unravel this dark plot’s mystery. She is undoubtedly the film’s moral compass, and stops at nothing to see that Pinkie answers for his crimes.
The performances given in Brighton Rock aren’t compelling, but they are convincing, especially for the central character. Pinkie’s paranoia slowly drives him insane and viewers realize this fairly quickly. He can barely handle being the leader of his gang yet decides to challenge and try and take over the biggest gang in Brighton. There is not one redeeming quality about Pinkie, which may be the reason the audience will have a hard time rooting for him to succeed.
It’s easy to get bored with the plot however, as it is very linear and predictable: there are no surprises or anything the audience couldn’t have seen coming. There are also aspects of the film that may raise a few eyebrows, like why switchblades are almost always chosen over guns or why Ida is so hell bent on catching Pinkie.
Overall, Brighton Rock is a decent thriller that does have some suspense littered throughout the film and a certain sense of satisfactory irony. But there are problems with the films pacing and it may feel like you are in the theater for longer than the two hours you paid for.
