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Dead Man's Shoes

Play trailer Poster for Dead Man's Shoes Released Aug 20, 2004 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
60% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
A soldier returns home to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his brother, who has a learning disability, while he was away. One by one the young hoodlums meet their fates as the soldier releases the hate he feels inside.
Dead Man's Shoes

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Though enhanced by cramped, gritty camerawork, this unsettling look at violence and revenge lacks the provocative edge needed to give it a substantial kick.

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Critics Reviews

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Ed Potton Times (UK) Meadows earns his “Scorsese of the Midlands” tag with eruptions of striking brutality. And the supremely unnerving Considine is his De Niro. Rated: 5/5 Sep 16, 2023 Full Review Sydney Morning Herald What's intriguing is that Meadows makes us identify with these small-time hoods, even as he's setting up their executions. Oct 13, 2006 Full Review Derek Elley Variety Film plays as a quirky Brit riff on everything from U.S. slasher pics to revenge oaters but without Meadows' usual psychological complexity. Aug 4, 2006 Full Review Alistair Lawrence Common Sense Media Arguably a career-best from British director Shane Meadows, this is an unrelenting revenge fantasy with a powder keg performance from Considine at its core. Rated: 4/5 Dec 2, 2021 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site One is confronted here with an extraordinary level of artistic and social unconsciousness. Feb 15, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Newcomer Toby Kebbell gives a dignified performance that includes all the stereotypical tics and smirks, however, the performance constantly feels real. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 5, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ian S One of my favourite films. It's portrayal of small time, small town "gangsters" is spot on. The scene where they pull up in a 2CV Dolly listening to hip-hop sums it all up. A very British film, funny, sad, depressing, and violent - the balance is perfect. I've never looked at a pot noodle in the same light. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/22/24 Full Review Joe J I thought this film has a great story plot as a British revenge movie. Some of the acting is a bit on par but having such an intense storyline on this subject is what really makes this film so enticing to the viewer. A definite 8.5/10. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/09/24 Full Review Robert W I thought this was an absolute must see! Both technically, the acting was superb and the editing was incredible! And emotionally, I don't think I've ever seen the telling of a weirder, funnier and more harrowing story in my life, and I truly connected with it. It has answered a philosophical question for me that I don't think I would have answered the same way before seeing this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review Audience Member A truly outstanding film, dripping with tense scenes and reflective a type of caustic toxic masculine friendship that can lead to "pranks" that go too far. Paddy Considine is terrifying as the avenging angel seeking retribution for terrible unkindness visited on his gentle and simple sibling. Considine wears the Derbyshire accent beautifully with flat vowels in abundance and emanates menace, utterly uncowed by the man antagonist. The destruction of their unfeeling cabal is brutal, and deserved? I re watch on average every 5 years, it is not an easy watch but ranks as one of my favorite films. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/15/24 Full Review Dan R Only director Shane Meadows could create a British movie as dark, disturbing and emotional as 2004's 'Dead Man's Shoes'. SYNOPSIS: 'A disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.: There are so many things that trouble me about 'Dead Man's Shoes' and I think the film is doing exactly the job it was designed to do. The film is an unrelenting revenge fantasy thriller that's probably Meadow's best work to date. The film meanders along with a powder keg performance from Considine at its core. At times he's totally unhinged and that makes his moments of clarity even more disturbing. His journey is both grimly satisfying as it is sadly insightful. A mirror into the darkness inside all of us. 'Dead Man's Shoes' is a truly disturbing, uncompromising and completely gripping movie. It's also deeply unpleasant. A classic British movie. 8/10 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/22/24 Full Review Mr P It's a classic. Keep a watch out for the plot similarities to First Blood, but a much grittier film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/01/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Dead Man's Shoes

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Movie Info

Synopsis A soldier returns home to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his brother, who has a learning disability, while he was away. One by one the young hoodlums meet their fates as the soldier releases the hate he feels inside.
Director
Shane Meadows
Producer
Mark Herbert
Screenwriter
Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows, Paul Fraser
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Big Arty, Warp Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 20, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
May 12, 2006
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.0K
Runtime
1h 26m