Michael Caine took the role of Harry Brown in order to shed light on the growing problem of gang related crime in neighborhoods across Europe and in large and small cities in the U.S.  Caine even wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times, which is worth reading, discussing the issue.  Here is an exerpt:

“But, the biggest surprise for me came during the filming itself. When the director, Daniel Barber, told me he was going to cast real local street kids in some roles, I thought he was crazy. I warned him, ‘You’re going to do two takes and they’re going to get bored with the whole thing and you’ll have to reshoot it with professional actors.’ Well, I was dead wrong. To my amazement, the kids got into the acting process immediately and stayed with it. By the fifth take, they were throwing in ad libs and working out how to improve their performances. And, they followed Daniel’s instructions to the letter.

In the space of a few hours, I saw that these young men and women, many of whom had already had run-ins with the police, responded wonderfully to some firm guidance and a chance to be part of something positive.”

Caine makes a valid point and even offers a solution to the growing problem in his op-ed.