Benutzerrezensionen

On paper I can see the argument that there is little morally redemptive quality to a film like Dead Man's Shoes, no diamond polished by the end credits to reward an audience going through the trauma. But to actually sit through the film, and most importantly, to be subjected to another of Paddy Consadines' electric performances, is an extra-ordinarily vital, if viceral experience.

In 'A Room for Romeo Brass' Considines character shifted from comical to threatening in a truly unsettling way, although in the end his promise 'to go dark on you' is easily thwarted by the decisive action and confidence of a father-figure. In this film, again, there is some uncertainty on the audience's part as to how far the character will go, as until the end, we are uncertain of exactly what he is revenging.

Rest-assured, Considine delivers an absolutely convincing depiction of a man struggling to balance his desire for revenge and redemption, he invokes sympathy and fear from the audience in a performance to rival DeNiro in 'Taxi Driver'.

I judge a film on the value of the experience it gives you, and 'Dead Man's Shoes is more than worthy of your time.

Dead Man's Shoes has been compared to Get Carter by critics, which while a good comparison, Dead Man's Shoes is a different breed of revenge film.

Naturlism is the order of the day, a common feature in Shane Meadows' films (A Room For Romeo Brass, 24/7) where Richard, an ex-marine, returns to his home town to exact revenge on the petty drug dealers that abused his retarded brother. Far more than your average revenge movie, Considine elevates it into a terrifying area, electrifying every frame he is in. You will laugh at the drug dealer's talk of porn and "al fresco" - but the minute Considine enters, the laughter stops. Totally believable, and the drug dealers (Gary Stretch and others) are fantastic support too.

The story is not as developed as I hoped it would've been, sometimes creating frustrating anti-climaxes here and there, but this is only a minor problem. The killings are well thought out, scary and well paced throughout. The plot, although simple (initially) does become a more twisted prospect towards the end - so it is a highly rewarding movie. Being only 86 minutes long helps a lot too, as the movie runs at a brisk pace, just right for it's genre.

Along with Get Carter, this is one of the best revenge films, and one of the best thrillers to come out of the U.K. The cinematography is bluntly physical and realistic, the music well implemented and the acting spot on. To add variety, the movie adds dark humour to create a great film. People who are expecting a blood-fuelled rampage of retribution ala Kill Bill will be disappointed. Dead Man's Shoes is an expertly delivered thriller, with subtle tension and great performances.

Well worth a watch.

8/10

One of the most effective and emotionally-striking films to have come out of Britain in the last decade, talented indie auteur Shane Meadows has created another masterpiece with 'Dead Man's Shoes'. A gritty and unsettling tale of revenge set amidst a small Northern England town rife with small-time drug dealers and criminals. 'Dead Man's Shoes' truly shows Paddy Considine's acting talent as the grief-stricken brother who has returned home to settle the score with the guys who brutalised his simple-minded brother and sent him into a life of chaos. This is truly a powerful and emotional tale that I cannot get out of my head, one that lingers in your mind. A film definitely to be watched (if you can handle the depressing tone), Shane Meadows has created an utter masterpiece of British cinema.

If you do not like dark, challenging films, don't bother.

If you are ready for something unlike anything you've ever seen, and are not afraid to confront difficult emotions, give this film a go, you won't be disappointed.

From the start the tone is set. A bleak town in Northern England, like many bleak towns in northern England. With petty, small time drug dealers, like petty small time drug dealers everywhere, vicious and stupid. Then into their lives comes a mysterious figure, in a green parka. And nothing will ever be the same.

It's difficult to describe the movie without spoilers, and I do not want to spoil a single second of what is possibly the most powerful and emotionally wrenching film I have seen for a decade and more (made all the more powerful by the haunting music). Paddy Considine (who wrote and stars in the film) is stunning as, for want of a better phrase, an avenging angel, albeit a fallen one. The menace and tension builds and builds (including perhaps the best depiction of a bad LSD trip ever set down on film - it's an extremely discomforting experience if you've ever been on the wrong end of a bad trip, believe me) until the harrowing climax. This is not a nice film. This is not a fun film. This is, however, an exceptional film, and perhaps more importantly it is an honest film, a true film if such a thing can be said of fiction.

If you want smiles, or empty action, or to put your brain on hold, this is not the film for you.

If, however, you want a film with genuine emotional depth, that makes you think and resonates far after the end credits have finished, then this may be what you're looking for.

Just don't expect an easy ride.

An overused word, but the closest I've seen to a masterpiece for many a long year.

It doesn't rely on CGI or explosions, small town, small budget but an epic film. The acting is superb, the plot is fantastic. I've rewatched several times now and it never gets old. A must watch. 10/10

'Dead Man's Shoes (2004)' might just be one of the bleakest films I've ever seen, a near-nihilistic revenge story in which there are no real heroes and violence begets no satisfaction. It really is grim, putting Paddy Considine's angry ex-army-man on a path of no return and painting him as just as much a monster as the thugs he's after. A large part of this is due to the fact that lots of screen-time is given to the no-good, small-time gangsters who find themselves hunted by the protagonist. Even though they're nowhere near likeable - or, even, empathetic - you can't help but identify with their sheer terror as they're picked off one by one in an unrelenting, merciless fashion. The violence of the movie truly is shocking, yet never overly gratuitous. It's frank, ferocious and, sometimes, difficult to stomach. It's also never glamorised, even if it is focused on somewhat. The effect of the picture is palpable. It isn't enjoyable, per se, but it's compelling and challenging. Without offering so much as a sliver of hope, the piece pulls you into its seedy world of wrongdoing and revenge and doesn't let you out until it's well and truly finished with you. 7/10

As powerful a film as ever. This one is a builder, so if you're not convinced by the beginning, the chances are you will be by the end.

Perhaps the type of revenge film that append more to the British public than the U.S, as I remember reviews from there, cladding this as a slasher and it certainly isn't that.

There are dark humour moments, but this really is about the past catching up.

Both Paddy Considine and Toby Kebbel were excellent and the considine/meadows collaboration was a match we'll made.

This is not just a "kitchen sink" film. It's an thriller with an edge, a story and believable characters.

It is a fairly violent film, but that violence is given a realistic, documentary treatment, which is some ways makes it all the more shocking. There is no gore splatter, just cold, well-defined revenge. The trailer did leave me with the impression it was going to be much bloodier, but I feel that Shane Meadows got the balance right.

Paddy Considine's script is very good, and leaves enough room for the audience to be surprised at the next turn, and his portrayal of a vengeful brother is spot-on.

Provided they are happy with the lack of Hollywood polish, this is a film I'd recommend to any lovers of the thriller genre. It's well-paced and there are sufficient surprises to keep you guessing throughout.

Overall, it kept me well occupied and it gets a good 8/10 from me.

I was starting to give up on British films. They all seem to be too considered, too focus grouped, too controlled by the marketing mafia. So it was so very refreshing to see a movie that has the inspired spontaneity so common in Japanese cinema, but with a very British story. Shane Meadows uses characters from his own past as source material, and co-writer Paddy Considine (Richard) based part of the story on family history, so we have a film that has authentic characters and authentic, semi-improvised dialogue. The revenge thriller format has never seemed more sophisticated. Richard's calculated derangement is balanced by the thuggish banality displayed by his targets, whose crimes initially seem more like misdemeanors until the last act. This movie is well paced, laugh out loud funny, and darkly menacing as it proceeds inexorably to its grim conclusion. If only more British films were like this, we might even have a film industry. It shows that the only way to make good films in the UK is to do it behind the studio's backs!

Shane Meadows' dark and disturbing morality tale plays like a bleak spin on any number of genres: 70s Brit gangsters, 50s westerns, 80s stalk-and-slash, 60s kitchen sink dramas, and modern urban crime flicks – this film gives each varying degrees of recognition as it tells a story that will shock all but the emotionally numb. What appears at first to be a straightforward revenge tale becomes increasingly complex as it approaches its climax, and grows progressively more internalised as it examines the subverted influence acts of revenge wreak upon their perpetrator.

DEAD MAN'S SHOES is a violent film, and its violence is all the more shocking for the calculated manner in which it is dispensed; in a blistering performance that is never anything less than totally convincing, Paddy Considine essays a man in whom violence brims beneath the surface; it's a controlled and purposeful rage that he controls, however, one that drives him on to avenge a wrong committed against his family, and which is aimed only at those who have committed that wrong. Considine's character is so intensely portrayed that every time he is in the presence of one of his quarry you can't help but tense up as you wait for him to erupt. More often than not, he tricks us, knowing that anticipation is (for the viewer at least) more unbearable than the actual event. The low-life he is gunning for aren't portrayed as evil men, merely stupid and self-important, the kind that are all too often seen in every bar in every town, eager for self-gratification and willing to obtain it at the expense of others. We've all come across them, and we've all wished to teach them a lesson but we've never had reason enough to do so. Meadows and Considine show us the personal consequences if we should, and their message is as precisely and accurately delivered as one of Richard's acts of violence.

There are plot holes in the story, and some of them are a little too glaring to be overlooked, which means the film suffers as a result. The twist is fairly obvious to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of film plotting, and the viewer is left strangely adrift once the carnage begins and we suddenly discover there is no moral anchor with whom we can identify. But then, I suspect that is the intention: the precise moment when our empathy with Richard is broken can be identified, and it causes us to stop and think, and wonder whether an act of revenge can ever be justified.

The acting is top-notch, especially from Considine and Toby Kebbell as his simple brother. Gary Stretch, with his weathered features, will never be the pin-up he used to be as a boxer in the early 90s, but delivers a performance here that suggests he could have a successful acting career ahead of him.

despite falling in love with 'This is England', the same can't be said for ' Dead Man's shoes'. I found the overall story weak and anti-climatic.

As expected, the film shines an uniqueness rawness on the screen and the writing stays royal to the colloquial reality of the film. However, the story lacks any real morals or climatic points. The main character is mentally driven to hunt down the gang of thugs who harmed his retarded brother.

You begin to realise half way through the film that there hasn't been one stand out scene or moment. Watching the thugs panicking and on full alert was funny and a suspense builder but when the time came for them to meet there fate, the execution was somewhat, disappointing.

Towards the end, things started to pick up, the full fate of his retarded brother was the main highlight while the final confrontation was also tensed

Despite all this, everything felt flat. The script had no real substance and the thugs were shallow. Another positive is that the run time is only a merely 90 minutes. Any more and it would of overstayed it welcome

I have waited for this film to come out for quite a while now, I missed it at cinema as the mainstream cinemas didn't show it and I had to wait for the DVD to come out which it did on Monday. I loved the film and have watched it a few times already, the film is dark very dark, almost to the point of a slasher flick Mr Considine is almost to the point of a monster.

The music is beautiful, all the score is chosen at the right moments and its pretty damn elegant. I also love the brutality of it, Mr Considine in all scenes looks like someone with so much anger and distaste for the people he is dealing with comes across really unstable and alarming, such strong character portrayal is rare in a film these days, the intensity of his character makes the best anti-hero seen for years pretty much since taxi driver, I have heard Paddy Considine being called the British Robert De Niro, I just can't believe he hasn't been poached by bigger (but not better) films. I can't wait to see the next Meadows/Considine Film, its always nice to look forward to something in films as the big blockbusters these day just have no soul anymore.

This is a film from the heart and I think this message will get across to all people who watch it.

All I can say is give it a chance. I gave it a 10 anyway possibly to high but better than a lot of recent films.

This is the best film i have seen in years. It left me feeling gutted and i have to say, in tears. It really brought back some rather shitty memories from my past. It's a film that makes you feel, and it makes you feel alive. And it makes you stop and think, and that is a pretty amazing thing considering the world we live in. It's raw and unforgiving, and it's to the point. If you want a film that will stay inside you for a long time, this is it. The images and the settings are truly beautiful. It's a breath of fresh air in the midst of Hollywood plastic productions. Love is not always pretty and easy, and this film will show you just how painful love can be. And what we are willing to do for the ones we love. I am still blown away.

Harking back to a time when the Brits made decent thrillers instead of clumsy middle class comedies, Dead Man's Shoes is a real breath of fresh air.

Surprisingly coming from the director of 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands' and 'A Room For Romeo Brass' this is very downbeat, violent but also has moments of high comedy.

The film also uses its Derbyshire locations brilliantly and looks fantastic.

Lead actor and co-screenwriter Paddy Considine is terrific value as usual and is surely well on the way to becoming one of the UK's premiere screen actors and all of the supporting cast are terrific particularly Toby Kebbell who plays the intellectually challenged brother (the actual descriptions used in the film probably breach review guidelines) and Gary Stretch - who'd've thought he could act?

Put it this way - your enjoyment of the film probably depends on your reaction to this one exchange of dialogue:

Herbie : What you lookin at?

Richard : You, you c***!

Loved it.

Paddy Considine jumps from his cheesily sickly role in In America to an ex-marine with a big chip on his shoulder in Dead Man's Shoes.

He returns to his home town knowing that his (spastic) young brother has been tortured by the local drug gang and sets about to calmly wreak his revenge.

This director seems to have an addiction to tales of petty thuggery with lots of kitchen sink violence. I found A Room for Romeo Brass quite inspiring and watchable - it touched the basic goodness deep inside the apparent rottenness. Shane Meadows then delved deeper into the world of unwashed layabouts, overflowing ashtrays and generally kitchen sink drama dressed up as comedy in Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. Now he's got all the low-life elements in one nicely polished helping. Fans will love it - lots of gritty violence, no nice people, not a lot of point to it - not my kind of movie.

I have this off-the-cuff method of rating movies when I come out of the cinema - was I inspired, educated or entertained? Dead Man's Shoes is a well-made, well-acted movie and contains at least some originality. That, in itself, should ensure some critical applause. But for me if the sum is less than the parts then I don't go for it, hence this very personal but rather critical review!

when i bought this some time ago (had to order from the UK), i wasn't sure what to expect. slasher or what. i was pleasantly surprised with the result.

it has some genuinely creepy and disturbing moments from the start, and the whole time you're kept on your feet as to what the hell is going on. i can't explain it. i was thinking "oh sh*t!" the entire movie. it's quiet, it's intense, and surprises even the most seasoned horror fan, though i wouldn't categorize this as such.

Paddy's character is both welcoming and menacing at the same time, a perfect acting job, he should have received some recognition for this. instead American audiences know almost nothing of this film.

I have become such a fan of Paddy Considine and will watch whatever he comes out with from now on, he simply makes brilliant choices as to what to associate himself with. there's a lot of passion on his part. that alone makes for a worthwhile viewing experience.

I'm not sure if we all watched here the same film.

Some reviewers go as far as saying that this is one of the best British films ever made and some said that it was THE BEST, please gentlemen, let's be serious.

This is just a fine film to spend an hour and a half without big expectations. This is an O. K. story of revenge fairly nonsensical if you look deep into the facts and technically no more than average.

Typical nice location in the countryside. I lived in Ireland for 16 years and it is very similar with the houses built on the cheapest side with similar characters too, your typical unemployed bunch of fellas working for a small time crime boss into the small drug trade, nothing really serious because there is no much clientele for that matter.

All in all the direction is reasonable and so is the story being the acting the best factor here but please, giving the film a 6 sure is generous enough. If you think this is one of the best British films ever, chances are you didn't watch many others.

Dead Man's shoes is nothing short of remarkable. It stands with Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur and his new film, Journeyman, as one of the best British films of all time and as one of my personal favorite films ever. The performances are stunning, Paddy Considine is terrifying, and the direction is perfect, as is the script.

10 out of 10.

Revenge is a hard thing to get right and Dead Man's Shoes has noble ambitions in its depiction of small town revenge that it doesn't entirely succeed with but remains a really good revenge movie that doesn't offer easy answers and is unflinching in the various acts of violence. It can be tough to watch and the emotional heft here is potent from the opening montage.

Paddy Consadine has a rage that burns from moment one. He's a tragic character who can barely contain his growing anger and all of his threats have a real vitriol behind them. All of his victims act in a way that feels natural. Everything they do from their banter to their fear and anger avoids caricature by feeling authentic.

Director Shane Meadows frames the early acts of vengeance like a horror movie and there's some black comedy in how his victims freak out when they realise how screwed they are. There's a sense of realism thanks to the grainy camerawork and Aphex Twin's score has a lot of layers to it, there's plenty of tragedy to it as well as a biblical nature as it reaches the climax.

I watched this movie based on the reviews on this very site. Whilst I did enjoy the movie I feel that some of the reviews here are vastly higher than they should be. I've heard talk of this being one of the best British movies of all time - nonsense.

It's low budget and has a grimy Northern setting. I did like some of the scenery but better locations could have been chosen. Lots of it has the feel of a middle-class Northern suburb where I feel a more deprived setting would have made the story more believable. Photography was quite amateur as was the direction.

The story didn't add up to me. The twist was effective but I don't feel the soldier's brother would have done what he did - there was no real reason to. The soldier's subsequent actions therefore seemed way over the top although I think the director was asking the question is he the hero or the villain. The gang came across as regular lads who took things a step too far. Plus the actors were too old for their roles especially the last guy with the wife and kids whose acting was dire. The entire last section seemed very contrived to me.

Considine was good however, the early scene where he turns from the meek stranger to snarling tiger to unsettle the dealer was great. All in all worth watching but could have been much better with a developed story and some better direction.

I was already a huge fan of Meadows' work (A Room for Romeo Brass, 24/7) before going to watch this film and had extremely high hopes for it. Another reviewer hit the nail on the head when he said he was manipulated from the off with deep anxiety and anticipation. It recently came out to rent on DVD and I must have watched it about six or seven times now and loved every viewing and there are very few films that I can say that about. It is superb, if you have not seen it, don't read on, just go and watch it. It is obviously not technically the best film of all time, but I don't care what anyone says, it has become my second favourite film ever made, its that good. My reasons for loving it are probably very personal, so excuse my if you think I'm overrating it. I showed it to my mates though and they all loved it.

SPOILERS AHOY Its a dark, yes very dark film, but Meadows has a knack of using humour to ensure his work is never miserable or too depressing. The scene where Sonny accidentally shoots his mate in the head with a sniper rifle is gloriously farcical. I even had to chuckle during the scene where Richard shows Herbie the mangled body of Tuff because of Paddys fantastic acting- 'D'ya wanna give 'im kiss?', 'D'ya want me t' shut it? yeah', unbelievable. The drug scenes are some of the most realistic I've ever scene; whoever suggests they aren't needs to go out and drop some trips and say that again.

Just like all his films (except Once Upon A Time In The Midlands), the soundtrack is spot on. Perfect songs used with impeccable timing create a distinct, moody atmosphere. All the acting is fantastic (even the little kids at the end) the improvisation works a treat and you genuinely feel as if you know these characters, or have met them somewhere before.

I feel sorry for anyone who didn't like this film, you really are missing out. There's a few small continuity mistakes, but I only noticed them after watching it a few times and you've got to be a miserable git to let that spoil the experience. Shane and Paddy (if you're reading this), you are the best thing to happen to the British film industry since Loach, forget cockney gangsters. I can't wait for 'Le Donk'. 'thtweet boys and girth'. 11 out of 10 from me.