Film: Dead Man's Shoes 18 rating Year: 2004
Dead Mans Shoes DVD Cover
Buy, Download, or Rent from

IMDB.com
Buy
Dwnld
IMDB.co.uk
Buy
Rent
Country: UK Genre: Thriller / Horror
Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Paddy Considine, Toby Kebbell, Gary Stretch, Jo Hartley

Also see our Guide to Shane Meadows, or visit our Shane Meadows UK or Shane Meadows USA store, plus our reviews of Shane Meadows other movies TwentyFourSeven, A Room For Romeo Brass and This Is England

Click logo to watch trailer at IMDB logo

Dead Man's Shoes Synopsis - Dead Man's Shoes follows the story of Richard (an ex-soldier) who returns to his home town to find out what happened to his younger brother Anthony (who has considerable learning difficulties). It is clear that a local gang of drug dealers had been bullying Anthony and exploiting his mental disability. Richard plots a "military" style campaign to gain a bloody revenge on behalf of his brother's tormentors.

Review of Dead Man's Shoes - Dead Man's Shoes is the best film by the best director of the next generation of British film directors. The plot is a relatively simple take on a revenge tale, but the dialogue, action and plot twists marks this out a truly special film (no doubt we will see a hugely awful Hollywood remake of this at some stage because its ticks all in the right boxes in terms of a thriller). The two lead actors give amazing performances- Paddy Considine as the avenging brother and Toby Kebbell who provides a hugely skilled, accurate and sympathetic performance as the younger brother with mental disability. Also ex-boxer Gary Stretch proves that he can act (very well actually) and that he is not included in the cast just to be a a name. As ever in Shane Meadows films the soundtrack is worth buying on its own as its got such great music on it - no one else has makes music work in their films quite as well as Shane Meadows does.
The reasons I recommend Dead Man's Shoes are: 1. The film is a top thriller and a contemporary take on the revenge tale. 2. The stunning performances of the cast and in particular the two brothers. 3. The soundtrack is perfectly chosen as a beautiful enhancement to the film. 4. This is a fine example of a film where the story and acting is the star rather than the special effects and stunts.