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BRIGHTON ROCK

What You Need To Know:

BRIGHTON ROCK is another version of the 1938 novel by Graham Greene. It tells the story of Pinkie Brown, a small-time hoodlum trying to make a name for himself in the underbelly of Brighton, England’s mob world in the 1960s. When a young woman named Rose links Pinkie to a local mob hit, Pinkie seduces and marries her to keep her quiet. Pinkie becomes more aggressive with Rose, but she can’t leave him, because he’s the only man who has ever paid her any attention. Their tragic romance leads to a climactic showdown on seaside cliffs. There, Rose comes face to face with the real Pinkie, a vengeful criminal who’ll stop at nothing to stay out of jail.

The characters in BRIGHTON ROCK are flat and unchanging. There’s no redeemable content, save for a few references to Catholic faith and prayer, but, unlike the original novel, they don’t have a positive impact on anything. Pinkie is detestable. It’s unbelievable he could ever seduce Rose. The movie tries to explain her motivation by saying no man has ever paid attention to her, but her motivation is unbelievable at best.

Content:

(PaPa, RoRo, Co, Fe, C, B, LL, VV, S, N, AA, DDD, MMM) Very strong mixed pagan worldview with people who act immorally throughout, strong elements of Romanticism as young girl gives up good sense and morals to follow her love for a known criminal, Marxist youth riots in the city, one feminist comment about birth control, and no positive elements except for a few minor references to Catholic beliefs, including an image of a crucifix on the wall even though the beliefs have no positive effect on the characters; 18 obscenities, five profanities; strong violence includes man stabbed in throat, man bludgeons another man to death with a rock, man pulls legs off a spider, man is forceful with a woman, youth riots break out in the city and a man is slashed with knives by a gang, quick image of a man hanging, men fight for gun, man spills acid on his face, skin peels off and man falls off cliff, and graphic image of man’s body with exposed bones after he falls off cliff; married groping and implied marital sex, woman is impregnated by her criminal husband, unmarried kissing, married kissing; upper male nudity, woman’s bare back shown and woman in sheer nightgown; drunkenness depicted, beer and alcohol use shown as well; cigarette smoking continually throughout and depicted drug use; and, very strong miscellaneous immorality includes blackmail, bribery, threats, lying throughout, revenge, all the characters are immoral with no positive traits.

More Detail:

BRIGHTON ROCK, a British remake of a 1947 movie based on a 1938 novel by Graham Greene, tells the story of Pinkie Brown, a small-time hoodlum trying to make a name for himself in the underbelly of Brighton, England’s mob world in the 1960s. However, when a young woman links Pinkie to a local mob hit, Pinkie seduces and marries her to keep her quiet.

Pinkie is a promising, up-and-coming gangster. When he and some other members of his gang are called upon to carry out a revenge murder, Pinkie accepts knowing that this will elevate him through the ranks of the mob world. Pinkie’s plans go awry when a local girl, Rose, may have seen some incriminating evidence that could land Pinkie as well as other members of his crew in jail.

Pinkie, in order to solidify his alibi and keep himself out of prison, begins to seduce Rose, even going so far as to marry her, in order to keep her from testifying about Pinkie and his gang. Pinkie becomes more and more aggressive with Rose, yet she cannot pull herself away from him, as he’s the only man who has ever given her any attention. Their tragic romance leads to a climactic showdown on seaside cliffs, where Rose comes face to face with the real Pinkie, a vile, vengeful criminal who will stop at nothing to stay out of jail, even if that means killing Rose.

BRIGHTON ROCK is not a good movie. For a character-driven movie, the characters are flat and unchanging. There is no redeemable content, save a few references to the Catholic faith and prayer, but, unlike the original novel, they don’t have a positive impact on any of the characters. Pinkie is detestable, and it is unbelievable that he would ever be able to seduce Rose. The movie tries to explain her motivation by saying no man has ever paid attention to her, but her motivation is unbelievable at best.

Other critics are praising the actors for their bold, nuanced performances, but there is nothing bold or nuanced about one-note character arcs. The movie also has a strong, mixed pagan worldview with some graphic violence, foul language and other miscellaneous immorality. Most moviegoers will prefer to enjoy more exciting movies with strong, redeeming stories rather than flat, character-driven fare.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.