Disturbing, uncompromising and completely gripping.
Dead Man's Shoes (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:21
Rotten:17
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Though enhanced by cramped, gritty camerawork, this unsettling look at violence and revenge lacks the provocative edge needed to give it a substantial kick.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Talented director Shane Meadows (A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS) teams up with fellow Brit Paddy Considine (IN AMERICA) for this exhilarating venture towards the dark edges of the human psyche. Considine... Talented director Shane Meadows (A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS) teams up with fellow Brit Paddy Considine (IN AMERICA) for this exhilarating venture towards the dark edges of the human psyche. Considine plays Richard, a former military man who looks like life has chewed him up and spat him out in the most ugly way imaginable. As Meadows's film begins, Richard returns to his small home town along with his mentally challenged younger brother, Anthony (Toby Kebbell). It quickly becomes clear why Richard has returned: some years previously a gang of local thugs, led by the thoroughly unpleasant Sonny (Gary Stretch), tortured Anthony, and Richard is hell-bent on making them pay for their crimes. Meadows gradually allows Richard's psychotic tendencies and lust for revenge to unravel, crafting a number of scenes where Richard teasingly mocks Sonny and co. before delving into scenes of shockingly relentless violence. An unusual film for Meadows, who has mostly plied his trade as a director of wry British comedies, DEAD MAN'S SHOES is packed full of unbearable tension and densely claustrophobic camera work. The film really belongs to Considine, whose impressive performance feels painfully real, often mirroring legendary on-screen psychopaths such as Robert DeNiro's Travis Bickle (TAXI DRIVER) or Michael Caine's Jack Carter (GET CARTER). Although the violence is unremitting when it comes, Meadows carefully judges it so the film doesn't descend into meaningless slasher territory, instead choosing to steer his film into a satisfying fantasy-revenge scenario aimed at anyone who has been tormented by small-town aggressors. [More]
Starring: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Emily Aston
Starring: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Emily Aston
Director: Shane Meadows
Director: Shane Meadows
Screenwriter: Shane Meadows
Producer: Mark Herbert
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Reviews for Dead Man's Shoes
It's as though there are two completely different films uncomfortably mixed into one and they're just fundamentally incompatible.
Dead Man’s Shoes is never less than watchable, thanks to Considine’s performance, but it’s never really engaging either and there’s a definite sense of the end not justifying the means.
A thorny take on the morality of crime and punishment, it's a back-to-basics guerrilla production that sees Meadows heading back to familiar gritty territory.
The ending feels like a desperate attempt to inject some emotion into the film. And it just doesn't work.
Isn't a mess, but it's sure no competition for Winchester 73, Once Upon a Time in the West or even Kill Bill, films in which payback really is a bitch.
Startlingly powerful, slightly loopy take on the revenge flick . . . offers a wry authenticity that the too-stylish, tough guys and gals in Tarantino's wanna-be-epics of retribution can't exude.
The film is further proof that revenge, even when served as a cold dish as this is, ends up being far too chewy for a satisfying movie meal
Film plays as a quirky Brit riff on everything from U.S. slasher pics to revenge oaters but without Meadows' usual psychological complexity.
In a swift 86 minutes, director Meadows and co-writer/star Considine give us a methodical, handsome, emotionally intelligent version of the revenge flick.
Atuações formidáveis (especialmente de Considine) em um filme moralmente ambíguo que, ao mesmo tempo em que funciona como maravilhosa releitura de Carter, o Vingador, analisa a natureza retroalimentadora da violência.
What makes it intriguing and eminently watchable is Considine's deft almost low-key portrayal of what is essentially an avenging angel.
There's a hint of Shakespeare's goriest tragedies here, sucked dry of any attendant heart, emotional depth or compelling human interest.
Latest News for Dead Man's Shoes
June 28, 2009:
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