Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with MiraJeff ejaculating all over DEAD MAN'S SHOES, a flick that has gotten almost universal acclaim as being a hardcore, badass flick out of the UK. Sounds a whole lot like ROLLING THUNDER to me, but that ain't a bad structure to follow, in my opinion. "Let me get my gear." hehe Anyway, I can't wait to see this flick, but in the meantime here's MiraJeff!
Hello again AICN’ers, MiraJeff back (applause!) from the Tribeca Film Festival having just taken a stroll in Shane Meadows’ “Dead Man’s Shoes,” a film that truly chewed me up and spat me out. To those of you who are confused, that was a compliment. Meadows, coming off “Once Upon a Time in the Midlands,” returns to the countryside, Derbyshire to be specific, in this revenge tale about a man, Richard (Paddy Considine) who returns from years of military service to discover that while he was away, a pack of drug-dealing blokes tormented his mentally-challenged brother Anthony (Toby Kebbel). Let me tell you that beneath its rather simplistic surface, “Dead Man’s Shoes” is not quite what it seems, and upon a deeper, penetrating look at its themes and protagonist, shows itself to be quite a powerful piece of filmmaking.
The film begins with some touching archive footage of Richard and Anthony as young children, celebrating holidays with their family over Smog’s “Vessel in Vain.” We hear Richard’s somber voice-over. “God will forgive them and allow them into heaven. I can’t live with that.” We’re introduced to a trio of drug/dealers/users who have nothing better to do than smoke dope and look at porn mags, arguing that English spunk tastes the best. I have no idea what they’re names were so for the purposes of this review, they will be named after people they look like. The one who could be Anthony LaPaglia’s clone is peddling his wares when he spots Richard staring at him from across the room. “What are you looking at,” he barks. And this is where that first glimmer of madness appears in Richard’s eyes, showing his true colors. “You, you cunt,” he snarls back. Even when apologizing for his quick temper, Richard seems genuinely threatening, and Considine plays the character like a bearded, bad-ass psycho capable of anything.
Donning a gas mask, he spends the night dispensing justice, warning the group of drug dealing wankers by trashing their flats, spray-painting their clothes, dyeing their hair, painting their faces like clown hookers, and stealing their stash of smack, infuriating the gang’s leader, Sonny (Gary Stretch). These Sorry Six scumbags figure out that the mystery man in town is Anthony’s brother, and decide to have a chat with him. What follows is the best scene in the movie, an exchange of unmatched bad-assery between Sonny and Richard where the latter gently informs the former that he was the one who did it, promising that he got to them with ease and he’ll do it again, even inviting Sonny and his cronies to come looking for him where he’s staying. He embarrasses Sonny in front of his boys, advising him to “get back in your car and fuck off.”
Spooked, the gang decides the only course of action is to kill Richard before things get serious. Uh oh, too late. During a bathroom break, a fat English bastard is axed to death. “One down” is written on the wall in his blood. The whole time they were talking about killing Richard, he was there hiding, waiting. He’s a patient, sick fuck and the audience has a blast rooting for him to give the druggies exactly what they deserve.
One by one they gang falls. The violence is real and brutal, very unsettling. Richard, putting his military training to use, kills one character by breaking his nose and pushing the bone into his brain. He drugs the dealers with their own product to incapacitate them so he can take his time with them. Richard is a sadistic fucker and what lends the film its moral weight is that he is realizing how out of control he is becoming. He’s afraid of what he might do.
What separates “Dead Man’s Shoes” from other genre pictures is how Meadows uses the character of Richard in the final 15 minutes. When he learns that there was one more guy partially responsible, a family man who holds the secret to the film, it becomes clear that Richard’s motive is not revenge, but guilt. I do not want to go into major spoiler territory but for those of you who have seen the film and feel compelled to discuss it intelligently, may I steer you to the film’s webpage on the IMDB, where a couple talk-backers have offered a useful dissection of the film’s themes and motives.
Meadows has made a gritty, balls-to-the-wall film that holds off on showing us too much until its mysteries are revealed. Paddy Considine, who co-wrote the film, turns in a menacing performance that is at times wrought with emotion, and other times, so disconnected from humanity that he doesn’t give murder a second thought. It’s a great movie about guilt, revenge, and how far brotherly love can carry someone into madness. Step inside “Dead Man’s Shoes,” and see what it’s all about. It’s a film that won’t disappoint.
