The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


CultureCinemaMovie reviews

Harrigan

Harrigan │ Movie Review
16 September 2013
Jennifer Atkinson
Jennifer Atkinson
Avatar
Jennifer Atkinson
16 September 2013

Set in the mid-1970s during a hard winter of power failures and police cuts, toughened Detective Sergeant Harrigan (Stephen Tompkinson, Wild at Heart) returns from fighting corruption in Hong Kong to find his own hometown of Newcastle in need of some serious order.

The hard, Northern setting makes for a good backdrop to this crime thriller.  The unyielding bad luck that plagues the desperate residents of Harrigan’s hometown seems to diminish with his return, but not for long as the re-acquaintance of friends and foes alike drenches the doomed city in even more strife.  Harrigan sets about introducing a more corporal form of punishment to the low-lives of Newcastle to the potential detriment of his friends and colleagues.

The hardened time of lawlessness flooding the streets is reflected in the money-starved police force who attempt to contain Harrigan’s enthusiastic efforts to salvage Newcastle from the criminal hands in which it now resides.

Director Vince Woods and writer Arthur McKenzie (The Bill) collaborate to bring to the big screen a story of unrelenting violence and prolonged unrest. With an emotive, variable soundtrack (that may result in the hearing of Amazing Grace never quite being the same again), there is no doubt that Harrigan is provocative and in every way intended to be so.

Tompkinson’s recognisable facial features are capricious and instil a light, almost amusing element to the film.  The dry storyline is fast-paced and contains similarities to films such as Harry Brown and This is England, but unfortunately falls short of any significant memorabilia or innovation.

Filmed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne there is no question about the film’s locational authenticity, and there can be no doubt that when it comes to nitty-gritty police dramas, no one does them as well as the British. However, with so many films to refer to now in the near saturated genre, the competition is steep and Harrigan doesn’t quite cut it.

All in all Harrigan is an entertaining watch, but probably a good one to wait for DVD release.

Jennifer Atkinson

Harrigan is released nationwide on 20th September 2013.

Watch the trailer for Harrigan here:

Related Items

More in Movie reviews

Cold Pursuit

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Capernaum

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Old Boys

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Happy Death Day 2U

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

A Private War

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Jellyfish

★★★★★
Laura Jorden
Read More

The Kid Who Would Be King

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

Instant Family

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Marighella
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Babylon Beyond Borders at the Bush Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Rip It Up: The 60s at Garrick Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Johnstons of Elgin autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Come From Away at Phoenix Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Hanger autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • STEVE O SMITH autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Pringle of Scotland autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Supriya Lele autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Cold Pursuit
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Capernaum
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • An interview with Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) director Claudio Giovannesi
    Berlinale

Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Caro Emerald at the Royal Festival Hall | Live review
Hawking | Movie review