IntroductionI've recently moved in with my boyfriend and we decided a few days ago to settle down on the sofa with a nice meal and watch a film together. He decided to put this film on as I had never seen it, but he knew I'd like it as I love horrors and thrillers. The film plot is the type that weaves a web and tells a story in a subtle way, allowing it to build up into a bigger picture. The film is set in a small northern town and focusses on a group of violent drug dealers who are the target of a soldier who wants revenge. There is sex, booze, drugs and of course, murder.
Dead Man's Shoes This is a psychological thriller which was co-written and directed by Shane Meadows, a BAFTA winning director known most recently for his outstanding British film This is England, a gritty tale of violent, racist young skinheads in the early 80's. Dead Man's Shoes was released over two years before This Is England and it shows a much more violent and in-depth view of Shane's work, focussing on torture, violence, revenge and guilt. I like the fact that one of the main actors in the film, Paddy Considine worked with Shane to write the film and his performance is incredible, you can really tell that they wrote it with personal insight and experience in my opinion. The film is 86 minutes long and it has an eighteen certificate.
PlotRichard, a deeply traumatised and guilt-ridden soldier returns to his home town determined to seek revenge after learning of the mental, physical and sexual abuse that his mentally challenged younger brother, Anthony endured at the hands of a gang of older men who were involved in some pretty shady things.
The BeginningI found this film to be a little slow at first due to the amount of dialogue between the gang of men who were responsible for the brutalities against Anthony. I can however see the reasoning behind this; we see that they have little remorse and are generally unlikeable characters, which creates a kind of respect towards Richard and gets us on his side, therefor creating tension in scenes in which the character is in possible danger. We don't really learn much about the main character in the beginning, or the entire film for that matter, but we do quickly learn that he is determined and highly trained. Toby Kebell's character, Anthony is the main focus during the beginning of the film and we are shown flashbacks of some of the abuse that was inflicted on him which although not gory, I found it disturbing as the character is a very vulnerable, naive and easily confused young man.
The MiddleI found that after the initial 20 minutes or so that the film became more light-hearted, with comical references such as the big, burly gangsters driving around in a rubbish little car and the clown scenes in which Richard painted their faces while they slept were equally as funny yet deeply disturbing at the same time, mainly because he had the chance to kill them point blank but instead decided to play around with them and humiliate them like they did his brother. This shows incredible tactic and restraint and it reflects his solider background. The light humour comes to an abrupt end though when the men realise who is responsible for a number of petty crimes against them - that's when the real tension, paranoia and fear kicks in amongst the group. The gang begin to plot to kill Richard.. but will he get them first?
The EndThe end of this film is the best part. Everything begins to make sense and a huge bombshell is dropped, creating a whirlwind of 'it all makes sense now!' thoughts, rushing through the viewers head. The ending is incredibly sad and heartfelt, Paddy Considine's performance is outstanding. Obviously I am not going to say how the film ends, but it's genius! I felt completely satisfied with how the film ended as it was not left on a cliff hanger and everything, in my opinion was explained.
Picture Quality and Special EffectsThe film is shot in a simple way, there are no fancy camera moves at all. The picture throughout has a grey blue tone to it which reflects the tone and low mood of the characters in my opinion and it creates a really dark and gritty feeling atmosphere if that makes sense! The flashback scenes are grey with static effect, reflecting that the events took place a number of years ago. There was no CGI as far as I could see, which considering the amount of bloodshed is a minor miracle, but I think that special effect make-up was used in the gorier scenes and it looks very realistic. The murder scenes in this film aren't too gory and are not particularly imaginative - there's the usual gun and knife scenes and there's one particular scene where a man's neck is broken by a swift punch to the throat.
The ActingI personally found the acting in this film to be a little hit and miss, although a couple of the actors did stand out a mile with their exceptionally good performances. Paddy Considine is quite possibly one of the best actors that I've come across and his performance was Oscar worthy. His ability to portray such a disturbed character is impressive and I found the way that he was mister nice one minute and mister slit-your-neck-open the next as equally impressive and a little disturbing. The way that he is placid and easy going one minute and the next he is like a wild animal reflects his state of mind brilliantly and the fact that he was so unpredictable and unhinged created a lot of tension.
Toby Kebbell's performance is also outstanding. Having seen him play a convicted murderer, I was surprised at how well he portrayed such a vulnerable and child-like character. His character was easily likeable and it was clear that Anthony thought the wold of his brother, making the ending all the more heart breaking. The gang of men in the film were all average actors witth the ability to play nasty pieces of work reasonably well. The actress who played one of the men's wives was quite a bad actor in my opinion and she delivered her lines in a very 'wooden' manor, but due to how exceptional Kebell and Consindine's performances were, this isn't a huge issue.
My Overall OpinionI highly recommend this film. It kept me and my boyfriend hooked. The acting was outstanding, the story was believable and the huge twist at the end was mind-blowingly good!
Special Features (Blu Ray)- Commentary by director Shane Meadows, co-writer/star Paddy Considine, and producer Mark Herbert
- "In Shane's Shoes" featurette
- Deleted scene
- Alternate ending
"There's blood on my hands, from what you made me do."
