Get Carter

As a film that has been lauded as one of the all-time classics of British cinema, I was somewhat disappointed with just how crass, misogynist and, suprisingly, dull Mike Hodges' 'Get Carter' actually is. Every aspect of this film reeks of the macho, gender stereotype perpetuating bullshit that has become so synonymous with the works of Guy Ritchie, anything starring Danny Dyer or Vinnie Jones, and all those other repugnant Brit gangster fairytales. Tales that only really exist in the wet dreams of macho schoolboys and, well, Guy Ritchie, Danny Dyer and Vinnie Jones. It seems that through the ages, these types of film have been labelled 'gritty' or 'social realist', whereas they are merely just stupid and lazy.

As is the case with almost every British gangster movie, just about every character is entirely one-dimensional; the men exist in a place and share the kind of thuggish dialogue that is so far removed from reality that it's both unengaging and utterly uninteresting. The sole purpose of women in 'Get Carter' is to bare their breasts and make tea. This is not an exaggeration. In one particularly bizzarre scene, Carter makes a phone call to Brit Eckland's character, Anna, and coldly tells her to get undressed and writhe around semi-naked on her bed, which she does with great relish, with extreme close-up shots of her breasts of course. While this sequence appears to serve no genuine purpose whatsoever, Eckland's role in the film being something of a mystery, what makes it even stranger is that he holds this conversation whilst sitting in the same room as the land lady of the B&B he's staying in, as she rocks hypnotically back and forth in the foreground of the shot, as if mesmerised by Carter's commands. All very odd. Furthermore, we later discover that Carter and the land lady are also sleeping together. Following a violent exchange between Carter and some other tough guys, when confronted by the land lady, Carter deals with the situation accordingly; gives her a slap and asks for some tea, an order she is then happy to oblige.

Frankly, for a film of such stature and enormous critical acclaim, I expected better. It is scenes such as this that serve to highlight, in my view, that 'Get Carter' provides the blue print for each of the abysmal British ‘tough guy’ films we have been subjected to since the arrival of Guy Ritchie and those of his ilk; that whilst there have undoubtedly been worse films made since 'Get Carter' that belong to this questionable genre, this is the point to where those films can be traced. In fact, if 'Get Carter' were released now, I am almost certain that it would be seen as a piece of throwaway trash, rather than an example of great British film making.

I am aware that a remake of 'Get Carter' was released in 2000 and was roundly panned by critics and audiences. As I haven't seen this version I cannot make any comparisons, yet I wonder if its dire reception was due to the fact it is a poor re-make or simply that it is just a bad film. The disappointing thing is, is that it is possible to make perfectly good British gangster films. ’Sexy Beast’ (Jonathan Glazer), ’The Long Good Friday’ (John Mackenzie) and ’44 Inch Chest’ (Malcolm Venville) being glowing examples of how to subvert the tired conventions of this genre to astonishing effect. Each of these films depict characters of far greater depth and superior plot development, providing a substantially more engaging experience for its audience. With 'Sexy Beast' Glazer has created characters of such multi-layered complexity in the form of Gary (Ray Winstone) and Don (Ben Kingsley) yet, sadly, awareness of this masterpiece is still so minimal in comparison to the likes of 'Get Carter', 'Lock Stock...' and 'Snatch' (Guy Ritchie).