DB7

Must-have movies: Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
(Filed: 01/09/2006)

Marc Lee reviews a classic that every film-lover will want to own

As a filmmaker, Shane Meadows is as rooted in his home territory as, say, Woody Allen is in New York or M Night Shyamalan in Philadelphia. And if Matlock, Derbyshire doesn't seem quite as promising or exotic a setting, his extraordinarily powerful and coolly lyrical Dead Man's Shoes places it on the cinematic map as firmly as the Big Apple or the City of Brotherly Love. It's a tale that takes frequent ugly turns, but the views are beautiful throughout.

Meadows's fourth full-length feature was shot in just three weeks on a low budget; key casting decisions were made only days before filming got underway; and the script was in a constant state of flux. Yet it is as confident and satisfying a movie as this country has produced this century.

In addition to the accomplished cinematography, which also weaves in unnervingly fidgety hand-held sequences, Dead Man's Shoes shines with a narrative that bowls along through terrible revelation and appalling violence to a devastating denouement. There is also a twist as effective as Shyamalan's best.

However, the film is unmissable mainly because of a towering central performance from Britain's best actor.

Paddy Considine, who co-wrote the script with Meadows, plays Richard, a former soldier who returns home to wreak revenge on a bunch of local low-lifes – drug abusers, petty criminals – who, eight years earlier, tormented his younger brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell, superb). He terrorises the gang in a similar manner, gradually turning these tough nuts into gibbering bundles of nerves who, in the end, are afraid even to visit the lavatory alone.

Considine brings an astonishing intensity to the role, blending quiet malevolence with fraternal gentleness. Even if he is motivated partly by guilt at having failed Anthony, his righteousness makes him utterly invincible.

There is a leavening of humour – Richard dons a gas mask to transform himself into a nightmarish "elephant man" and later plasters the gang leader's face with clownish make-up while he sleeps – but Dead Man's Shoes, with its bursts of highly imaginative nastiness and brutality, is not for the faint-hearted.

Moor Larkin

Not this Lover.

I watched this on FilmFour, mainly on an indirect 'recommendation' of a fellow-forum member and in a self-consciously open-minded manner. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was very determined to see it through, I would definitely have turned off after twenty minutes or so.

I'm normally loathe to find fault with things I cannot do myself, and often muse that making movies must be so much harder than it looks. However this film seems to have such over-lardy reviews that I feel a need to speak out....

The plot twist, "worthy of Shyalaman" is merely something the viewer couldn't possibly have guessed beforehand. It was more of a self-justifying trick. In fact, it was so unknowable that it's hiddenness lay behind my increasing feelings of annoyance throughout the film. The avenging hero was killing people for very little reason so far as I could see. When you realised why he was so angry, it made more sense as a plot, but just made the film seem more contrived than before.

After a while I realised that the worst thing about the film is that it is one of those 'ensemble' things, and the actors actually are pretty hopeless. I know I was supposed to think that the drug-dealers were a horrid, nasty lot, but they were such poor actors that I found their naivette hopelessly charming, like a bunch of naughty children. The only one who was half-convincing was 'Sonny' but he was only physically so; he couldn't deliver dialogue very well.

The 'best actor in Britain' may or may not be such. How could you tell from this? Being a 'stone killer' and looking mysterious and stern, is all very well but does it make you a great actor? I couldn't see it.

Then there were the ludicrous plot credibility gaps. Sonny has a telescopic rifle and accidentally shoots another drug dealer.... but he still has his real target stood, standing there... Does he shoot him? No, he looks confused and is driven away in his overcrowded Citroen 2CV......... The gang pootling around the hills and valleys in this silly vehicle made it seem like some madcap outing from 'Last of the Summer Wine'.

The photography was lovely and the camera-man held the camera very steady a lot of the time so it all looked quite professional. Presumably all these chaps meet up at College and get Grants to do all this stuff, and then their fellow-graduates, who have gone into the written media, write all this complimentary guff about these boy wonders. It makes me laugh.... except I pay the tax.

The Director covered up some of the inadequacies of the plot and his actors by interesting film techniques but is that what British Film is all about these days?

http://numbersixwasinnocent.blogspot.com/

vanburen

I really enjoyed Dead mans shoes from start to finish and thought Paddy Considine and Toby Kebbel were brilliant in it.I'd seen Considine in Meadows A room for Romeo Brass and thought he was very good in that.Im sure we will be seeing a lot more of him even though he's not in Meadows latest but is in Backwoods with Gary Oldman to be released soon i think.

ChristineCB

Interesting review and comments, Moor. Thanks. These actually make it more interesting to me, just to see which side of the fence the movie carries me.

dylan

I enjoyed Dead Man's Shoes and, perhaps pretentiously, remarked at the time that it was Get Carter directed by Kurosawa.

D.

dogstar

I wish I could agree with the glowing testimonials for Dead Men's Shoes but I'm afraid the movie came across to me like an episode of Last of the Summer Wine directed by Quentin Tarantino. It just never seemed to make up its mind what kind of film it wanted to be and kept falling between its several stools. Much in fact like other Shane Meadows films including This Is England ( which in many ways I enjoyed ). It saddens me a little not to be more enthusiastic about DMS - my girlfriend and her daughter love it, by the way - since I admire any British film-maker who can both get films made they way they want to. I just wish I liked them more. Much like Derek Jarman I like the idea of Shane Meadows more than the work he produces - but how lucky we are to have them, whatever my opinion of their films.

Daz W

Hi....I'm new on here so please be gentle

Dead Mans Shoes is probably my favourite British film, I love LS&2SB and Snatch for different reasons and many other British films but I think DMS is an amazing picture. Paddy Considine's performance is sublime and I thought Gary Stretch did a fine job considering his background. The whole cast were good!

Yes there are faults with this film but I'm prepared to look past them purely because of how it was made, how long it took and how much it cost. Which in todays world of film making makes it nothing short of a master piece.

Thanks.

Darren Whitfield.

dremble wedge

Which is why I liked it!

cletus awreetus

I don't know of the film in question, but am familiar with a similarly titled episode of the Twilight Zone.

stevie boy

Paddy Considine is a consumate actor. He has a small role in the latest Bourne film which is a million miles away from this role. Paddy can play some diverse roles and is still young, best actor? who can say, good actor? certainly

dadsarmy

One of my all time favs deadmans shoe's and the sountrack is great,i have it somewhere around.

Azanti

I have met Shane on a number of ocasions, in fact him and I began working virtually in the same week in the business and I know why he choose to make this film the way he did, after his experience with the disappointing Once Upon A Time In The Midlands which clearly was not a good experience.

I think on balance the film is fresh and orginal with some very strong performances. I can see why it falls into a 'love or hate it' category - It is that type of film and has that type of quirkyness. I am glad to see Shane's career continue to flourish because I am sure in years ahead he will make some surefire masterpieces, and he could have easily, as a persona, gone the other way, but he is still very humble about his luck and his work.

As for comparing him to Shyalaman or however you spell it - I am sure but in my view he was a total one hit wonder. I worked out the ending of 'The Village' from just watching the trailer and unbreakable and Signs were just 'so what' films for me, though I am sure others may herald his work. Just because a film has a twist in it (Not exactly new) it doesn't make it comparable to someone else. The two of them aren't even remarkably similar in talent or ability. Shane is leagues above him.

dogstar

Clearly the Shayamalan reference wasn't intended to suggest a comparison between him and Meadows as film-makers in any way. The original review quoted in the above post merely compared the plot twist in Dead Men's Shoes to those in Shayamalan's films ( for what its worth I'm in the Moor Larkin camp on this one ).

Azanti

lol, for what its worth, I'm not.
Having lived on council estates on the outskirts of Nottingham, I can totally verify that some (empahsis on some) gangs of youths selling drugs are actually are not much more than a bunch of bullying hapless incompetants who try and talk to the talk but can't walk the walk if someone of any real calbre stands up to them. The film really doesn't take certain elements of itself too seriously, the whole gang being in a 2CV is a pretty definite statement of intentions on that one.

harryshand

Absolute class - imho this is Shane Meadows finest - I didn't believe the hype from friends and colleagues for ages but eventually bought it and wished I hadn't waited so long.

There are a few small holes in the plot I suppose, but the characterisation is superb - I didn't see the twist coming and I think a few of the deleted scenes would have been better left in.

The full (deleted) parmesan cheese improv scene is hilarious, the gangs actions shocking and the ending is touching.

A top 5 all timer for me