DEAD MAN’S SHOES
*****
Directed by Shane Meadows.
Starring Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell.
Thriller, UK, 90 Minutes, Certificate 18.
Released on Limited & Standard Edition Blu-ray by Second Sight Films on 10th August
Surely enough time has passed, that we can now claim Shane Meadows and Paddy Considine’s low-key revenge thriller as a bona-fide classic of British cinema. Released at a time when British crime cinema was still in thrall to the likes of Guy Ritchie’s mockney gangster cinema, Meadows, co-writing here with leading man Considine, delivered a film that was all too believable with its big men in a small town characters simultaneously capable of acts of horrifying violence and pathetic cowardice. Far more than your standard British vigilante flick, this seemingly low stakes tale of a military man returning to the small Derbyshire town to gain revenge on the drug dealing lowlifes who abused his younger, mentally challenged brother veers into increasingly darker and subversive territory, becoming more of a tragic horror piece that, with its rural backdrop, can also be seen as a forerunner to today’s prevalent English folk horror boom.
The slim plot, often rewritten on the fly and beefed up with expertly improvised dialogue from an utterly convincing cast, turns nearly every revenge movie trope on its head. The conflict between Considine’s cold eyed killer Richard and a group of gormless yet cruel bullies in thrall to Gary Stretch’s drug dealing Sonny is dealt with in such a way that somehow manages to satisfy the urge that we as a viewer want to see them reap what they sow. However the matter of fact manner in which Richard breaks them down, culminating in an extended sequence of cold blooded and blunt viciousness that manages to unnerve the viewer, brings into question the bloodthirsty urges we had earlier. Meadows then fully brings into focus the full tragic nature of Richard’s vendetta with a conclusion in which the lone survivor is left stained and wracked with shame and guilt. These actions echo across the fields and ancient castle that looms over the town, deepening the film's already ghostly and haunted atmosphere. The imagery of Considine stalking his victims in his military gasmask (“He looks like a fucking elephant!”) in the small town could be caught up in the large net of English folk horror, suggesting a film that is simultaneously caught up in the past and its then present.
The most genre inflected of Meadows works, it is perhaps eclipsed by the darkness of his later TV works such as THIS IS ENGLAND and THE VIRTUES which tackled abuse in an even more uncompromising way. Something that was also tackled in those works that also seems to have its roots in this is the notion of a man facing up to his guilt and accepting the awful consequences of his actions. Very few films, especially in this sub-genre, feel prepared to tackle such a notion in such a way. This still makes DEAD MAN’S SHOES such a jolt to the system, over two decades after its original release. At the same time, Meadows trademark sense of humour shines through in the handling of his cast. Coarse and juvenile they may be, but it further highlights the notion of a certain naivete, highlighted nicely in the visual of them driving around town in a tiny soft top Citroen 2CV with a cartoon figure on the hood. In complete contrast Considine’s portrayal of Richard, still one of his best performances in a quality body of work, is cold blooded and matter of fact. His matter of fact admittance (“Yeah, it was me.”) when challenged by Stretch’s Sonny as to see if he broke into his house still raises the hairs on the back of the neck.
All of this still impresses, especially in this stellar repackaging from Second Sight Films. Remastered, the picture has never looked this good, highlighting the vibrant Derby countryside, council houses and cramped flats in all their blood stained glory. The sharpened image would be reason enough alone to upgrade from that old DVD copy you still might have but the new special features, alongside the older commentaries, make this an essential release. The limited edition with requisite booklet and reprinted graphic novel will no doubt entice and satisfy longtime fans but the brace of new interviews will also illuminate many aspects of the film for both new and longtime fans. Gary Stretch gives an honest and eloquent account of not only his experience making the film but his career as a whole after making the move from a successful boxer to acting. Also of interest, especially after seeing how his own career took off in the years after this, is Toby Kebbell’s recollection of how he became involved with the film at a late stage and his own personal connection to the character of the mentally challenged Anthony. Meadows and producer Mark Herbert also give an in detail account of how the film evolved from a more light hearted crime caper titled The Skull to the spare and dark meditation on revenge we all know and remember after a single viewing.
With thirty minutes of deleted scenes, three commentaries, a documentary from the films world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2004, Meadows 30 minute short film Northern Soul featuring Kebbell as a terrible wrestler, this is yet another essential release from Second Sight Films. Long neglected on home media, this is a more than welcome release for one of revenge cinemas darkest entries. Still packing a punch, it stands out, not only in Meadows and Considine’s already considerable filmographies, but in British cinema itself.
Iain MacLeod