Dead Man's Shoes DVD Review

"DEAD MAN'S SHOES" reviews

DVD

DEAD MAN'S SHOES

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-27 22:16:49

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

Having recreated the spaghetti western as Once Upon a Time In The Midlands, director Shane Meadows moves onto a revenge drama with Dead Man's Shoes. This powerfully bleak film features Paddy Considine as a former soldier intent on destroying the happiness of the local drug gangs he blames for wrecking his brother's life.

Considine plays Richard - a vigilante in combat jacket and gas mask - who visits horrific violence against the small Derbyshire town's petty thugs and gangsters. but the film makes clear that in his uncontrolled hatred, Richard is more part of the problem than the solution. Death Wish this ain't!

Considine is simply magnificent, pulling off a performance of endless brooding and soul-searching with grim fascination. The occasional touches of quirky provincial humour only enhance the sense that here is a man enslaved by his own anger. The film's powerful anti-drug message is all the more welcome given the casual glamourisation of gangsters that's de rigeur in London-made films. For once, we have a British film with convictions and the courage to execute them.

The DVD release also includes some oddly incongruous extras, such as the Northern Soul short and Danger Mouse documentary, as well as commentary from Considine and Meadows.

Copyright © MRIB 2005.