- Richard (Paddy Considine) has always protected his simple-minded little brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell). When Richard leaves the rural village where they have grown up to join the army, Anthony is taken in by Sonny (Gary Stretch), a controlling and vicious local drug dealer and his gang of lads. Anthony becomes the gang's pet and plaything. Seven years later, Richard returns to settle the score. De
Ex-soldier Richard (Paddy Considine) exacts bloodcurdling revenge against a gang of thugs who abused his mentally disabled younger brother (Toby Kebbell), who was left in the custody of a ruthless drug dealer while Richard served in the English army. Blending the grotesqueries of the modern slasher flick with the righteous anger of the "Death Wish" pictures, this dark thriller also stars Gary Stretch, Jo Hartley, and Seamus O'Neill. 90 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.! 1; Subtitles: Spanish; audio commentary; featurette; deleted scene; alternate ending.Harrowing thriller about a hotwired ex-soldier (co-scripter Paddy Considine from
Cinderella Man) who returns to his sleepy Irish village to dole out merciless revenge upon the booze- and drug-sodden hoodlums who abused his mentally handicapped younger brother (the astonishing Toby Kebbel). Director Shane Meadows (
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands) doesn't shy away from delivering scenes of gripping suspense and violence, but the end result hews closer to an ambiguous meditation on the nature and effect of vengeance a la Sam Peckinpah's
Straw Dogs than a
Death Wish-style grindhouse effort. Taut and thought-provoking,
Dead Man's Shoes is a must-see for indie film aficionados with a taste for the grittiest of fare. The DVD includes some rollicking commentary by Meadows, Considine, and producer Mark Herbert; an intriguing and heartfelt featurette on Meadows and! his own violent past as a teenage skinhead in 1980s England, ! from whi ch he drew inspiration for this film; and an alternate (and somewhat less satisfying) final scene.
-- Paul Gaita
8:52 PM
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