Harold’s big plans start to go up in smoke when acquaintances and businesses are attacked by an unknown force.
Pushed into a corner, Harold drops all graces to destroy his new foes…
A classic rise and fall gangster movie, The Long Good Friday is a jolt of energy.
I only watched it recently, and it feels so vital. From Francis Monkman’s electrifying, pulsing score to John Mackenzie’s muscular direction, it is a movie that feels both classical in approach and still contemporary.
Ironically the movie is succeeding at what the central character fails to do: relevance.
Played by Hoskins at full tilt, Shand is a figure of epic tragedy.
Harold spends most of the movie trying to present himself as a new man - more sophisticated and law abiding (he constantly refers to his gang as a corporation).
While Shand foreshadows certain elements of the UK’s future (his dream is the Olympics in London in 1988), he is rooted in its past.
Hoskins plays Harold as man who thinks he is changing, but is completely oblivious to the fact that he has not changed, and cannot change.
Harold is not a man of the future - he is incapable of progression or evolution. He is a human volcano, who only understands life in terms of violence.
He must be on top at all costs, which makes it impossible for him to deal with anyone.
Harold’s empire is built on forces he is unaware of, and cannot control - his business is built on Irish labour, and his offsider Jeff (Derek Thompson) has been mediating relations with the IRA.
While his actions have led to the film’s drama, Jeff is not really an antagonist- he is just trying to run Harold’s business.
It is clear that he is the reason why Harold is able to believe he can go straight.
You get the sense that Jeff has not told Harold about the deal with Harris and the IRA because he knows Harold would blow it up.
This is proven true after Jeff’s death when Harold just kills Harris’s IRA contacts rather than pay them to keep the wheels turning.
Part of the movie’s tragedy is that Harold seems to be aware of himself - his scream when he realises Jeff is dead is the wail of a man who knows he is doomed. In one savage instant, all the class pretensions are gone.
His final act of betrayal is a blunt metaphor for his fate - the bodies of the dead IRA men fall into a race track, causing a multi-car pile-up and a massive explosion.
The final scene is monumental - I have seen it before, and even on its own, it is a masterclass, as Harold realises the game is up.
I was late to the party on Bob Hoskins. I only really plugged into his work after he passed. I watched Mona Lisa and was absolutely bowled over.
As Harold, Hoskins is terrifying but completely, horrifyingly human.
Hoskins’ ability to convey the helplessness of this monster is hypnotising. He captures the deepest fear behind the swagger, and the relentless desire to keep moving forward. He is a man chased by the ghosts of his past.
Helen Mirren is fantastic as his girlfriend - even she represents the kind of upper class presentation he aspires to.
Just a great movie.
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