The Suppressor is a British neo-noir film from 2011.
After Blake Bradley loses his wife, Shereen, in a home invasion, he lets his anger build up until he witnesses a prostitute being abused, prompting him to intervene. A mysterious benefactor, claiming to be the prostitute's father, offers to fund Blake's vigilante work in exchange for taking down major drug dealers in Scotland; but Blake's benefactor (credited as Max Bentley) might not be what he seems.
Spoilers abound by virtue of the narrative structure.
Sometimes, the tropes are not good enough:
- All of Them: Blake purchases every weapon that the arms dealer has to offer for nine and a half thousand pounds.
- Brooklyn Rage: Claude Santos is an obnoxious, easily provoked New Yorker. Despite having been an early benefactor of Billy, his attitude gets him killed.
- Corrupt Politician: Simon Smith, Member of Parliament, accepts money from drug dealer Billy Hunter to look the other way regarding Billy's indiscretions, and intervene legally on his behalf.
- Crusading Widow: Blake attacks criminals as a means of lashing out against the addicts who killed his wife. When Max had seen Blake defending the prostitute, he exploited Blake's rage to get rid of his competitors.
- Eagleland: Claude Santos is an obnoxious New Yorker who thinks he is more dangerous than he really is.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Billy Hunter may have been a drug dealer, but he never deliberately targeted innocent people, or sold drugs to children. Max, AKA Vince the Prince, has no such compunctions.
- Ludicrous Gibs: Downplayed. During Blake's final confrontation with Vince the Prince, he fires the grenade attachment on an assault rifle, dismembering the latter, but we don't see much except the camera is slightly splattered.
- Manipulative Bastard: Max, AKA "Vince the Prince", exploits Blake's desire for vigilante justice to convince him to kill the drug dealers and other criminals who happen to be Max's competitors.
- Mysterious Benefactor: Max Bentley is the enigmatic figure who supplies Blake with information about the dealers and other criminals he is supposed to kill.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: When Blake says that he wanted justice in response to Max saying that Blake got a taste for blood, Max counters that Blake is essentially a serial killer.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Max often speaks with a civil tone which hides his ruthlessness.
- Violent Glaswegian: The film does not shy away from the angry Scottish stereotype.
- Blake Bradley himself is a bitter recovering alcoholic who attacks criminals.
- Billy Hunter is a vicious drug dealer who doesn't take flak from anyone.
- Vigilante Man: Blake murders criminals because he feels that the law has failed to sufficiently punish them.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Max pretends to be the father of the prostitute Blake had rescued in order to convince him to do vigilante work.
