More Than Just Vengeance: A Review of 'Get Carter' (1971)

(Review written Winter, 2016)

(Get Carter)

A slick London gangster (Michael Caine) cold to the core and bursting with sexuality, travels back to his hometown of Newcastle to seek answers for the mysterious death of his brother, Frank Carter. Revenge and murder greet him rather naturally, as do a multitude of over-sexualised women, almost lifted entirely from a Bond film, or Caine’s earlier role in Alfie (Gilbert, 1966). But what sets Get Carter apart from these, and other films of the gangster genre for that matter, is the films intriguing character study and attention to witty, black humour.

Mike Hodges skilfully balances the films extreme violence, with a very British, sexual humour much more characteristic of a Carry On… film than gangster. The humour acts as a very entertaining antidote for the constant, chilling brutality which Jack Carter is accustomed to. Much down to this is Caine’s performance and his character, whom is often sarcastically applauded for his gallows humour by other characters. If anything, both director and actor play on his image from Alfie, incorporating many sexual encounters that are much more greedily hedonistic than sensual, and always end in a raunchy punchline much like the one above.

Along with this black humour, the psychology of Carter is very interesting, and is a breath of fresh air in comparison to other gangster/action films that tend to focus more on the fantasy of violence than the characters themselves. Carter feeds on sex and violence like a depraved animal, and it is the constant mirroring of these two activities that suggests that one explains the other. He feeds on all his base desires because he wants to. However, there is also more to Carter’s motives of revenge than savagery, in the form of guilt. He seeks vengeful retribution to atone for his affair with Frank’s wife. In Jack’s complex, psychopathic mind, murdering his brother’s killer absolves him of his sin.

In the end, Get Carter is a raw and idiosyncratic iteration of the British gangster film. Its only downfall is the early wavering of the plot. Carter at times seems to aimlessly wander into each situation without a clear motive to progress the plot to its central goal without being rushed. Certain scenes then become like fillers designed to keep the audience’s attention instead of creating meaning. However, apart from this minor criticism, Get Carter is a great watch for anyone interested in the gangster genre.