Get Carter  ★★★★

BRITISH crime movies don’t come better than 1971’s Get Carter.

Mike Hodges made his directorial debut with this modern classic featuring one of Michael Caine’s best performances.

As the hard-nosed London gangster seeking to avenge his brother’s death, Caine is riveting and creates an archetypal anti-hero that has been copied many times over.

Based on a 1970 novel Jack’s Return Home, the film revels in its realistic depiction of criminals who exist in every class of society, exploiting the weak through drugs, violence, prostitution, pornography and gambling under the cover of legitimate businesses in the likes of entertainment and construction.

As a leading enforcer for one of London’s major crime figures, Jack Carter moves easily within this dangerous culture. But when it comes to family connections, it’s another matter entirely.

When we meet Jack he has already rejected warnings and is heading back to his hometown in the North East to attend his brother’s funeral and find out more about the supposedly accidental death.

As Jack comes into direct contact and conflict with his northern counterparts the pressure increases both from them and his employers back in London to stop creating problems and let it go. But the harder Jack is pushed the harder he pushes back, leading to a climactic confrontation on a wintery, desolate beachfront.

Hodges uses the working-class North-East locations brilliantly and the supporting cast provide a fascinating assortment of authentic characters who leave Carter with many false trails to follow. Throw in Caine’s menacing avenger and a wonderful soundtrack and the basic nature of the plot is transcended on the screen

For its time the film depicts violence as sudden, ferocious and dirty and was criticised by some critics for it. The knives also came out for the treatment of female characters which is admittedly tough but mostly remains in keeping with the tone of the film and the lead character.

The exception to this is a questionable short scene in which a character played by Britt Eckland, a super-model of the time, has a good time with herself half-naked on a bed while having phone sex with Carter.

From the clever build-up of tension on the first train trip using just soundtrack and Caine’s mannerisms to its nihilistic, inevitable ending, Get Carter remains a thrilling and engrossing watch five decades after its initial release.