Dead Man Down (2013)

In New York City, a crime lord's right-hand man is helped by a woman seeking retribution.

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writer:

J.H. Wyman

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Farrell	...	Victor
Noomi Rapace	...	Beatrice
Terrence Howard	...	Alphonse
Dominic Cooper	...	Darcy
Isabelle Huppert	...	Valentine Louzon
Luis Da Silva Jr.	...	Terry
Stu Bennett	...	Kilroy
Franky G	...	Luco
Declan Mulvey	...	Goff
John Cenatiempo	...	Charles
Roy James Wilson	...	Blotto (as Roy James Wilson) (as Jr.)
Myles Humphus	...	Lance
Stephen Hill	...	Roland
Aaron Vexler	...	Paul
James Biberi	...	Ilir

Storyline

Victor, a rising gangland player, has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse, with the single purpose of making Alphonse pay for destroying his once happy life. As he meticulously orchestrates his vengeance from his high-rise home, Victor watches and is watched by Beatrice, a mysterious young woman who lives in the apartment across from his. On the surface a fragile woman-child, Beatrice seethes with a rage of her own. When she uncovers Victor's dark secrets, she threatens to expose him unless he helps her carry out her own campaign of retribution. Each fixated on avenging the past, they devise a violent and cathartic plan that could change their worlds forever. Beatrice is kidnapped by Alphonse towards the end, Its a race against time for Victor to save her.

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Plot Keywords:

suspense | crime lord | new york city | dead body | truck explosion | 

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Taglines:

Blood demands blood.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language throughout and a scene of sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stu Bennett ("Kilroy") performs as a professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the name Wade Barrett. WWE Films is one of the producers of this film.

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Goofs

Early in the movie when Victor is shown his sniper rifle its caliber is described as 7 point 62 by 5 point four. There is no such caliber. The correct caliber is 7 point 62 by 54 - or more accurately, 7.62 x 54R with the "R" standing for "rimmed."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Darcy: [holding infant son] It wasn't meant to be this way, you know? We make our plans, sure. But life... life is what happens to you along the way. You know, first I didn't want this. I didn't want to connect. I didn't want to get involved. But she kept on with me, you know. This is what life is. This is why we're here. To connect. To... to build. We're here to build something. And then we had Theo. And then I understood that... you know, she was right. We're not meant to be alone. You ...

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: The Worst Films of 2013: Brian and Dave Edition (2013)

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Soundtracks

A Fine Mess
Written by Girard Knox
Performed by The British Columbians
Courtesy of Rural Records
By arrangement with Brightmind Music

User Reviews

Surprisingly Good Thriller!

Dead Man Down is actually not a good thriller, but it is a great thriller. Some things may not be entirely believable, but then again we are often told to suspend our disbelief in these kind of movies, which I did. This thriller is a slow-burn thriller that focuses less on the action, but more on the characters and the retribution.

Oplev's film has a distinctive European feel to it and that is how I like my thrillers. But this film is about a man named Victor who is the right-hand man of a crime lord named Alphonse and has a very mysterious past. But he is seduced by a car crash victim named Beatrice, who is a mysterious woman herself. But together, they plot to bring Alphonse to justice.

For a film such as this, it has a pretty talented cast. Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace share such intimate chemistry with each other. It's a shame Farrell is not a high box-office draw these days because he got so much talent. Terrence Howard does a very good job, and it's nice to see him shine in a villainous role for once. There is a nice cameo by F. Murray Abraham as well and I like it because we definitely don't see much of him anymore.

Overall, Dead Man Down is much better than what people are making it out to be. It's a slow-burn thriller, not an action shoot-em-up as apparently people were expecting. There are going to be logic issues, but I'm very good at suspending my disbelief, because I'm watching a fictional movie. But this is a well-acted thriller and one of the better films of 2013. I rate this film 9/10.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Albanian Spanish Hungarian

Release Date:

8 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Man Down

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,345,250, 10 March 2013

Gross USA:

$10,895,295

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,074,539

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmDistrict, IM Global, WWE Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1