Dead Man's Shoes

On a friends recommendation I watched:

Dead Man's Shoes (2004).

This British revenge drama is directed by Shane Meadows who also co-wrote it with main star Paddy Considine.

The story is this; A soldier, Richard (Considine) returns to his small home town to get revenge on a group of local lowlifes for tormenting his mentally impaired brother Anthony. The group deals drugs, takes drugs and likes to mess around, but against an angry paratrooper they have little to show.

The Roaring Rampage of Revenge trope is an old one, and I have seen a few in my time. Tarantino's Kill Bill movies exemplify the trope, but Dead Man's Shoes is a different beast. There is no glamour, no real cathartic moment like when John Wick gets revenge for his dog, and really no action. It's gloomy, miserable and sad, but in a good way if that makes sense.

The movie is told in two parts, flash backs in black and white and the present in color. We see everything the group does to Anthony, especially the groups leader, Sonny (Gary Stretch). He is the dark soul that pushes things too far, the one who laughs the loudest, gets the angriest and the one the group follows and fears. He doesn't even walk, he swaggers.

Dead Man's Shoes is extremely well made. It takes realism to a level where it almost becomes surreal. The camera is often right in there, putting you in their dingy living rooms, even right up in their faces, essentially trapping you in the grim narrative with no way out but through to the end.

Staying with the gloomy mood, the soundtrack is sad and melancholy, but good. The actors are likewise good, with several being veterans of the craft, amateur hour this is not.

I think the central theme of the movie is guilt. Not just the guilt of doing something wrong, but the guilt of not putting a stop to it, the guilt of being away and the guilt of revenge itself. They say two wrongs don't make a right, and Dead Man's Shoes is an example of that, but it's also about justice.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, absolutely. Dead Man's Shoes is extremely compelling even though it is the kind of dark movie that saps the light from the sun and leave a bad taste in your mouth. I wouldn't go so far as to call it brilliant, but more than worth watching at least once.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!