Do you know what the scariest thing is about "Harry Brown" starring Michael Caine, it's that it does paint a frighteningly real portrait of what life has become in the UK. The streets and underground passes where teenagers congregate, abuse innocent passer buys and they way they flaunt the law is not make believe, to quote another famous movie "This is England". As such "Harry Brown" is quite disturbing and although some may make comparisons between it and Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" with the shared aspect of a man fed up of the gang culture in their neighbourhood; it is different and quite chilling.

In "Harry Brown" Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) plays Harry an ex Marine who everyday sees the violence and vandalism of the teenage gangs which run riot around his London neighbourhood, causing people to hide behind curtains in fear. When his best friend Len (David Bradley - Hot Fuzz) is pushed to the edge and murdered by a group of teenagers, Harry is forced to take matters into his own hands as he goes after the cocky young men who not only savagely murdered Len but also ruin the lives of all who live in the neighbourhood.

In a way "Harry Brown" is a movie of two halves the first of which paints that honest and frightening picture of what life in UK has become. It's cleverly done, stripped bare of any fluff or imposing soundtrack to show how Harry's life has become quiet and lonely, living alone in the block of flats, avoiding certain areas because of the teenagers who congregate there and visiting his wife in hospital as well as the pub for a drink with a friend. It's a bleak but real portrait of what life is like for the elderly in the UK highlighting that loneliness, the fear but also the pride, such as Harry making sure his home and appearance looks right. It's so well worked that it makes you realise things about those elderly people you see in the streets going about their business and as such is a true look at life.

Alongside this "Harry Brown" also shows that shocking look at youth culture in the UK, where they gather together, smoke drugs, abuse people and carry weapons. Some may say that it is an exaggerated look at life here in the UK but frankly it's not with the gang culture not just prominent in the cities but also in small suburban towns where they vandalize and threaten, sometimes kill just for the fun of it. It demonstrates how frightening life is like not just for the elderly but for all people as the cockiness of young teenagers means anyone can come under attack.

The second half of "Harry Brown" is where I would say they have tried to combine a mainstream style storyline into this realistic picture of life in the UK as Harry takes matters into his own hands. In a strange way there is still some realism to this as Harry draws on his experience having been a Marine which if you think about it many of the elderly men you see in the street will have served in the forces. But instead of making him an unreal action man it shows how cruel growing old can be as he is unable to do what he once did with ease.

There is an exaggerated element to this side and at times borders on the over the top to not only deliver entertainment but also try and show why certain people deserve being killed. The scene where Harry goes to get a gun, walking through a room where they are secretly farming Cannabis is frankly very real except the low life's that he encounters growing the drugs are a bit exaggerated, almost too low life to be believable, although it does give us another chance to see how good Joseph Gilgun, better known as Eli in Emmerdale, is when it comes to serious acting, delivering a snivelling wreck of a being. That feeling of being slight exaggerated continues through out as Harry becomes a vigilante bringing down those in the gang who he blames for the murder of his friend, but then it makes the movie commercially acceptable and entertaining.

Of course there is no question when it comes to the performance of Michael Caine as Harry Brown, having been brought up near where the movie was made he fits in perfectly. But it is the fact that he delivers such a realistic portrayal of the elderly in the UK which is so hard hitting. When he peers from behind his curtain as young men beat up an innocent you do get a sense of fear and disgust as you do when he chooses to go the long way to the hospital rather than taking the under pass where he knows the young gang members congregate. But even when the second half comes and Michael gets to become the vigilante he does it with realism, such as that he doesn't fear dieing or that he is calm in a volatile situation drawing on his experience of being a marine. It's a compelling, realistic performance which makes "Harry Brown" a stunning, real movie.

Aside from Michael Caine the young men who play the gang members are equally convincing in particular Ben Drew who is cocky, arrogant and pure evil as Noel the leader of the group. It's a performance so real that you can see the character he created in any number of young men who walk around in gangs and ramps up the authenticity of the whole movie. Plus there is David Bradley, who many will recognize from the Harry Potter movies, as Harry's friend Len. Apologies for being repetitive but it is another authentic performance of an old man pushed to the edge by the abuse he receives from the teenagers who take delight in taunting him, putting excrement through his letter box as well as trying to burn his flat down.

Of course many will try to make comparisons between "Harry Brown" and "Gran Torino" because of the shared theme of an old man going up against the gangs that ruin their neighbourhood. But there shouldn't be comparisons because they are vastly different movies but both are equally great.

What this all boils down to is that "Harry Brown" is first and fore mostly a realistic look at life in the UK, delivering that sense of fear which many feel as they see young men and women vandalising their neighbourhoods. But it is also entertaining delivering that vigilante story and a sublime performance by Michael Caine to make it more than just a shocking look at what the UK has become. It is at times uneasy to watch, with an eerie silence but it manages to combine realism with action superbly, making it well worth a watch.