Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

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

Director:

Shane Meadows

Writers:

Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows

Stars:

Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell

4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Richard returns home from military service to a small town in the Midlands. He has one thing on his mind: revenge. Payback for the local bullies who did some very bad things to his brother. At first his campaign employs guerrilla tactics, designed to frighten the men and put them ill at ease. But then he steps up his operation, and one by one these local tough guys are picked off by the terrifying angel of vengeance that Richard has become.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | torture | army veteran | anger | brother brother relationship | 

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Taglines:

He's in all of us.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

K-15

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Vingança Redentora

Filming Locations:

Bonsall, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP695,393 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,825, 14 May 2006

Gross USA:

$6,408

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$203,450

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warp Films, Big Arty Productions, EM Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (flashback scenes) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Toby Kebbell was cast only one day before filming started

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Goofs

Before the drug scene when Richard is putting the drugs in the kettle you can clearly see under the gas mask Richard has long(ish) hair. While in every other scene he has very short hair.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Before the credits roll, the film is dedicated to the memory of Paddy Considine's father.

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Connections

References Syntyneet tappajiksi (1994)

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Soundtracks

Forgotten Thoughts
Performed by Laurent Garnier
Taken from the album 'Unreasonable Behaviour'
(p) & © F Communications 2000

User Reviews

Mind-blowing example of a damn good movie

Well, you can probably tell from the summary that I thought this was a really good film. To be frank, from the first few minutes I felt that knot in my stomach that comes from deep apprehension and anxiety; I was being manipulated from the off, and it just got more and more intense.

The film is a straight revenge story - a man goes back to a small town in the north of England to take revenge on a group of people who abused and tortured his mentally-retarded brother. Richard has been in the army for several years and is trained as a mercenary, but he plays mind games as much as he resorts to violence. In fact, I had to ask my friend if this qualified as a slasher film (which is how you will probably see it advertised) and we didn't think that the term does it justice.

The script is superb, and reminded me of Almadovar in that it squeezes an incredible amount of detail about the characters without any clumsy exposition. For example, to gauge the relationship between Richard (an astonishing portrayal by Paddy Considine) and his handicapped brother Anthony (played by Toby Kebbel with skill and sensitivity, and not a little sensuality) pay close attention to the conversation where they talk about a childhood football match. So much said about their characters, their relationship and the situation, in so few words.

A film as violent, aggressive and discomforting as this has no right to be as funny is it is, but it gets away with it. The gang upon whom Richard takes revenge are at times touching, farcical, disgusting, pitiable but ultimately human. The worst of humanity laid bare, making you want to retch and laugh at the same time.

I am not going to spoil this film by going into the little twists and turns, the less you know about the plot the better. Although many of my reasons for being so impressed with this movie are personal, I think that the script, acting, cinematography, direction, editing and soundtrack are all brilliant. This film is on a limited cinema release, but search it out; it will take you on a hell of a journey.

"God will forgive them and let them into heaven, I can't let that happen"