Get Carter (1971)

So, you know I love me some revenge films right? Let me introduce Get Carter.

To put it in perspective, 1971 was the year my mother graduated high school. For me, Michael Caine was the guy who took over as Alfred the butler in Batman. He played sweet, grandfatherly types as befitted a little old British guy.

This is not that Michael Caine. This guy is young and skinny and mean as a snake. Granted, I wouldn't be in a peachy mood if somebody killed my brother and tried to cover it up, either. Still, the path of destruction this guy wreaks is pretty epic. So epic that they re-made it in 2000 starring Sylvester Stallone. I haven't seen that version so I can't tell you if there are any salient differences. Basically, Jack Carter's brother dies under shady circumstances and Jack comes back to his hometown to settle the score. There's pornography, drugs, wild parties, and a lot of nudity. The "reveal" isn't so much a twist, but it is terribly unsettling given the editing and a particular piece of gossip that I almost missed.

For some reason (I don't know if it was the disc itself or just the movie) I had a helluva time trying to hear the dialogue. I had to turn the volume up higher on my TV than I ever had to before just to make out what was being said, and since this isn't an American-made movie, the dialogue is pretty critical.

I'm not sure how spoiler-y this is (I guess it depends on how much you like British crime films) but I want to briefly mention the ending. It's not quite as darkly ironic as L4yer Cake but I felt it was sadly abrupt. Just, you know, FYI.

Man, after this and Le Samourai, I kind of wonder what the hell mood I was in when I queued these. I'm glad I didn't watch them back to back. That would have been fucking depressing.