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:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

Anthony is wearing Adidas Popper Pants in the film, including the flashback scenes. If the flashback scenes were from eight years years ago, it would have been 1996. Adidas Popper Pants weren't released until 1997.

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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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Connections

References One Million Years B.C. (1966)

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Soundtracks

Afterlight
Written and Performed by Clayhill
With kind permission of Eat Sleep Records

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Dead Man's Shoes

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