Barely been on here for a YEAR! Sorry If I've not been able to respond to anything. Hope you are all...
Barely been on here for a YEAR! Sorry If I've not been able to respond to anything. Hope you are all doing very well x
Member since:24.05.2007
Reviews:51
Members who trust:25
I'll do something a little different and do a detailed breakdown for 'Dead Mans Shoes'. This is a film that I came across in early 2005. A friend had recommended it to me as they were well aware that I have a love of British films, particularly the independent ones. This seemed ideal to me really.
COST
I personally purchased this pretty much when it was released in early 2005. It cost me roughly a tenner I reckon but this is irrelevant! It is currently available at £4.99 brand new on Play.com
LOWDOWN
The Director of this film is Shane Meadows, he is critically acclaimed for his low budget offerings like TwentyFourSeven and Room for Romeo Brass. His films generally focus on the midlands, as is the case for this low budget thrillier. In terms of cast there is little to recognise with the exception of Paddy Considine, who starred in 24 Hour Party People and the Arctic Monkeys video 'Leave Before The Lights Come On'. The film focusses on two brothers on a quest to exact revenge on a gang of small time thugs in the Nottingham Region. Richard (Played by Considine) is ex army and is clearly hell bent on gaining some sort of justice for the the acts of bullying against his retarded brother. As the battle lines are drawn, the situation will come to a head. There is guaranteed bloodshed.
ANY GOOD?
An excellent, gripping and darkly moving piece. It touches on human cruelty and bloodiest revenge. With a steady pace set, a stunning performance from Considine and a score that sizzles along with the film. Aphex Twin being just one of the names attributed to the soundtrack. The grim middle england settings, a lot of it rural and some of it urban Nottingham, is a key factor in keeping a simmering tension throughout. Meadows seems to have found a real niche in creating these low rent urban tales. He has a core group of individuals that will work for him and has a cult following. As long as he steers clear of attempting the mainstream, as he so did in the plainly disastrous 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands'. There aren't any hollywood explosions or fancydan stars but what Dead Man's Shoes provides is a well filmed, gritty and suprisingly moral film that will not disappoint. It is films like this and bringing memories back to the likes of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and suchlike that makes me wonder how this country could allow FilmFour to go bust. Imagine the potential gems we could miss out on. I am sure Meadows still wishes FilmFour were around for film-makers not blessed with huge backing financially like himself.
VALUE?
At £4.99, I don't think anybody could say that they were disappointed. Even paying close to full price as I did when I bought it a few years back, I can honestly say I got excellent value.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1997 - Drama - Director: Ronan O'Leary - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: James Spader, Anne Brochet, Barry McGovern, Anna Massey
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This is one of my favourite British films of all time. Paddy Considine is fantastic in this. I think you hit the nail on the head with your review; a gripping and darkly moving piece.
avacarrdo 07.06.2008 21:36
I'm not a great fan of this genre of movie, but from your review I can appreciate that this movie's pretty good.
May 25th, 2008
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
