It's 1964 in the seaside town of Brighton, England. Disturbed young gangster Pinkie Brown (Sam Riley) kills rival Fred Hale. There is a photo with quiet waitress Rose (Andrea Riseborough). He's taken with her and marries her. Her boss Ida (Helen Mirren) worries that their marriage is less about love and more about him keeping her quiet. On the other hand, Rose is utterly in love with him and his hunger for violence.
The name Graham Greene piqued my interest. There are great actors here. There is good potential but it becomes somewhat muddled. To me, filmmaker Rowan Joffe seem more interested in creating a tone rather than smoothing out a narrative flow. At one moment, I almost surrendered to his flourishes when he put in a hundred hipsters on mopeds to take on black leathered bikers. It's weirdly compelling but it's also very odd. Pinkie and Rose have an intriguing relationship and that pulls through to the end. It's a disturbed love story and I'm willing to buy that.
The name Graham Greene piqued my interest. There are great actors here. There is good potential but it becomes somewhat muddled. To me, filmmaker Rowan Joffe seem more interested in creating a tone rather than smoothing out a narrative flow. At one moment, I almost surrendered to his flourishes when he put in a hundred hipsters on mopeds to take on black leathered bikers. It's weirdly compelling but it's also very odd. Pinkie and Rose have an intriguing relationship and that pulls through to the end. It's a disturbed love story and I'm willing to buy that.