film: Dead Man's Shoes

[tambourine-man]

There's been a few recent posts about this film - either recommending or anticipating it - and there's been a rash of people suggesting that this is a modern classic of British cinema... so I thought a thread would be appropriate.

First off, I have no idea where the suggestion of 'classic' comes from. This is a massively overrated film. To be fair, Shane Meadows shows promise as a director, but displays his inexperience in appointing a competent casting agent.

The acting is BAD. I mean... REALLY BAD. At first I thought it was just un-stylised and raw and that my tastebuds had been destroyed through too many refined Hollywood films, but no... the acting is atrociously bad in places and often has the 'forced' and 'scripted' feel of a student film in places (the rather glaring continuity errors reinforce that feel). The main trio of characters of Richard, Sonny and Anthony perform adequately. Paddy Considine (Richard) does bring some interesting dimensions to a fairly simplistic 'avenging' character and does shine, but then it'd be difficult not to considering that the rest of the cast are wooden, stilted and only serve to prove that extras should never be given a speaking role.

This is never more true than for Paul Sadot (Tuff). I have never witnessed a more cringeworthy performance than his. The early scenes where he and his flatmate Mark (Paul Hurstfield) are chilling in their flat are, again, quite awkward and clumsily acted. Herbie (Stuart Wolfenden) is more reasonable and although he fails to convince the viewer of the authenticity of their situation, he does briefly raise the standard of their interaction. But Sadot pretty much torpedoes the pivotal scene at the garage/petrol station with his schoolboy "oh shit.... it's my line" acting. I believe he originally qualified as a mime artist. He should probably stick to scenes where he's trapped inside an invisible box.

Secondly, there's a disjointed feel to some of the comedy. The absurdity of the gang members driving around in a clapped-out Citroen C2V doesn't quite work (or it didn't to me)...

Spoiler: dead man's shoes

...nor did the older gang member walking around constantly with his defaced jacket. If someone spraypainted a target on your back and wrote 'NOB' on it... why would you walk around in public still wearing it???

On the plus side, Meadows applies a soundtrack that it pitch-perfect. Difficult to explain fully why it works... it just does. And despite the under-par performances, the film is an enjoyable waste of 90 minutes.

Worth watching, but nothing to get excited about, and certainly nothing that could be considered revolutionary.

Opinions?

 

[IcebergSlim]

i thought it was good. paddy considine was great in his role after watching it id go back just to watch his scenes.

i like how the story moved along. at first u dont really know why richard is out for revenge from the flashbacks, then later on it is revelaed and his brothers presence is revealed which was obvious soon on.

the actors who portrayed the gang members, id say did a decent job at portraying the fools their characters were, and not tuff gangsters... just fools.

two of comments made me LOL, 1st sadot originally qualifyin as a mime artist, cause i picture the one scene im sure u know i speak of and it couldnt me any more true. and 2nd the "clapped-out citroen c2v" LOL when they were rolling down the street packed into that thing that was hilarious.

main reason i liked this film is paddy considine he did a great job id say, and how the story was played out worked well. last the ending i thought was perfect way to end it.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I thought it was great. Been ages since I saw it but I don't remember having any hang-ups about it at all.