Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Shane Meadows

Writers:

Paddy Considine (written by) &
Shane Meadows (written by) ...

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's in all of us.

Plot:

A disaffected soldier (Considine) returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother (Kebbell) years ago.

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Revenge | Anger | Punishment | Home Movie Footage

Awards:

4 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Paddy Considine	...	Richard
Gary Stretch	...	Sonny
Toby Kebbell	...	Anthony
Jo Hartley	...	Jo
Seamus O'Neill	...	Big Al (as Seamus O'Neal)
Stuart Wolfenden	...	Herbie
Paul Sadot	...	Tuff
Paul Hurstfield	...	Mark
Emily Aston	...	Patti
George Newton	...	Gypsy John
Neil Bell	...	Soz
Craig Considine	...	Craig
Matt Considine	...	Matt
Andrew Shim	...	Elvis
Arthur Meadows	...	Mourner

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (flashback scenes) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Malaysia:(Banned) | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

Matlock, Derbyshire, England, UK

Company:

Warp Films

Trivia:

The music system Sonny has in his living room is the Sony MHC-S5.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Richard: [narrating] God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into Heaven. I can't live with that.

Movie Connections:

References Enter the Dragon (1973)

Soundtrack:

Monkey Hair Hide

A dirge, but my god, a riveting one.

On paper I can see the argument that there is little morally redemptive quality to a film like Dead Man's Shoes, no diamond polished by the end credits to reward an audience going through the trauma. But to actually sit through the film, and most importantly, to be subjected to another of Paddy Consadines' electric performances, is an extra-ordinarily vital, if viceral experience.

In 'A Room for Romeo Brass' Considines character shifted from comical to threatening in a truly unsettling way, although in the end his promise 'to go dark on you' is easily thwarted by the decisive action and confidence of a father-figure. In this film, again, there is some uncertainty on the audience's part as to how far the character will go, as until the end, we are uncertain of exactly what he is revenging.

Rest-assured, Considine delivers an absolutely convincing depiction of a man struggling to balance his desire for revenge and redemption, he invokes sympathy and fear from the audience in a performance to rival DeNiro in 'Taxi Driver'.

I judge a film on the value of the experience it gives you, and 'Dead Man's Shoes is more than worthy of your time.