Aforementioned badass.
Mullet to kill.
In which the boy casts a glance over the point where Maurice Micklewhite got decidedly more ‘gangster’.
Well… [SPOILER ALERT] no one ‘gets’ him. That’s for sure. Sorry if I rueened the film for you, but it’s still worth a watch; I personally had an inkling that the badass on the left of this text would survive. And I didn’t just think that because he’s wearing a three-piece suit.
You can most certainly see where Altman got his inspiration from when making The Long Goodbye – and that’s not the only time we’re reminded of Raymond Chandler throughout the film. Caine’s brooding Jack Carter reads a copy of Farewell, My Lovely on the train up to Newcastle, a nod to the neo-noir style being put across to us as an audience. The eponymous lead sulks his way from pillar to post, smoking and drinking his way through the city he defines. (Jesus, I’m channelling Chandler myself here.)
Suspicious of his brother’s ‘death’ back in his hometown, Carter travels from the deepest of the deep gangster-filled London town up to the north of the north, Newcastle. But there’s no happy ‘Why Aye”s waiting for him; just a ring of silence and a group of either convincingly inept or unconvincingly devious supporting roles. Conversations had, half over the shoulder and through the fuzzy head of the next victim/possible threat of Carter’s, give off the idea that there’s something hidden behind each play of the film. Much like the poker game of Kinnear’s – where our lead meets the unfortunate Glenda – each move, each answer, each sideways could be a bluff, an attempt to up the ante, or a wretched and lamentable tell. Only Carter will discover which is which, but will it all be too late?
As mentioned above, the camerawork within the film is possibly the most avant-garde I’ve seen in a British 70’s mainstream film. With long zooms, over-the-shoulder shots that bring the Bourne trilogy to mind (not so much jumpy, but odd-angled), the use of hand-held camera, unnervingly lingering shots…all rightfully ahead of their time and inspirational following on from this. The long zooms are particularly well used, emphasising Carter’s distance and disjuncture with his hometown; he may have grown up here, but take that step back and he’s a small part in a much bigger picture; a cog in the machine; a ‘cock-er-knee’ through and through, guv’nor.
I feel that overall, the film was a good first attempt at portraying the grittier side of the gangster genre in the UK. Both Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie are massive fans of the film; it rewrote the intentions of the genre in the process, also showing a darker side to the already-famous Caine (“bloody doors…” and all that).
It’s Taxi Driver, if Bickle kept his cool; Gatsby with a gun. With the charisma of Caine, and the true grit of The Big Sleep, Get Carter is your classic revenge tale. Bloody to the last, it is a thrill-ride unlike any other at the time. After all, nothing beats a brisk walk stark bollock naked in Teesside.
Jack’s Return Home, or, “Haven’t I Seen Him in New Tricks?“: Inspired by Ted Lewis’ novel of the aforementioned name – and no less gruesomely told – Get Carter‘s Michael Caine incorporated knowledge of known criminal acquaintances he had back in the 60’s and 70’s. Which was probably everyone. Also, keep an eye out for New Tricks’ Alun Armstrong…he has a small supporting role, with not exactly happy-go-lucky consequences…
– TB
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