Dead Man's Shoes
Encyclopedia
Dead Man's Shoes is a British psychological thriller
co-written and directed by Shane Meadows
and Paddy Considine
, the latter of whom also stars.
This revenge begins when Richard and Anthony are sitting in a pool hall. Richard is watching a local thug (Herbie) deal drugs. Herbie realizes Richard staring at him and confronts him, to be shocked at Richard's angry response. Herbie quietly backs away and leaves. Richard follows Herbie to the building from which the gang's boss, Sonny, runs his drug business. With Sonny, he swaps his drugs money for another batch of drugs. As he leaves the building, he is confronted by Richard who apologizes profusely for his rude behaviour. A confused Herbie accepts his apology and runs away, terrified. That night, Herbie and friends Soz and Tuff are in a flat taking drugs. He tells them about the man in the pool hall and states he thinks he might be Anthony's brother, who has been away serving in the Army. The men are visibly shaken when this is said. When Herbie leaves he sees a man in an army gas mask banging on the front door of the block. Soz and Tuff run outside but the man is nowhere to be seen. When they go back in their flat they discover Richard has ransacked it, stolen the drugs and spray painted threats on the walls. The next day the thugs visit Sonny to explain where the drugs went. When they meet, Sonny has had his face painted but doesn't realize. The 2 other gang members arrive during this time and they have had their hair and clothes painted as well. They all suspect one another of playing games until Herbie states that the man he saw in the pool hall is Richard, Anthony's brother. All of the gang become silent as they realize that Richard is back in town. They sit in silence, their amazed faces interspersed with flashbacks of how they mistreated Richard's younger retarded brother, particularly one flashback where Sonny tells an inebriated Anthony that his brother left to join the army because he was so ashamed of having a mentally disabled brother. The men decide that they must find Richard and confront him together, there being safety in numbers. They encounter him whilst driving in their Citroën 2CV
. Sonny confronts Richard and tries to intimidate him. It doesn't work and Richard explains how he toyed with the idea of cutting Sonny's throat while he painted his face the previous night. He makes it clear that he is not scared of any of them and invites them to come and find him at the old farm where he is staying. The gang leaves with Sonny visibly concerned at Richard's apparent lack of fear.
Things soon turn nasty that evening as Richard sneaks into a house where the gang are hiding out and playing cards. He brutally kills one of the members with an axe, using the dead man's blood to scribble the words "One Down" on the wall. Sonny decides that they should shoot Richard. The next morning, they take their car and go to the farm where Richard is staying with Anthony. Sending in Big Al (one of their members) to draw Richard out, Sonny prepares to shoot him with a rifle and their only bullet. However, he misses and kills Al. With no bullets remaining in the rifle they retreat and return back to town, whilst Richard smiles.
The surviving members return to a local petrol station where Tuff runs off, scared of Richard's revenge. The car can't start, so the remaining three decide to walk back to town. When they arrive at Sonny's house, they arm themselves and search the place, expecting Richard to be there. They do not find him, despite the fact that he is hiding in the kitchen pantry. While they are upstairs Richard laces their kettle with a cocktail of the drugs he took from the gang earlier in the film. The three men become completely intoxicated a few hours later and Richard reappears to kill them one by one. He toys with them, dancing and joking. He drags the inebriated Sonny into the kitchen, puts a plastic bag over his head and shoots him atop the head. Next, kills Soz with an upward palm strike, seemingly sending the bone of the nose into the brain. Finally he sits with Herbie and offers to let him live if he discloses the whereabouts of the final original gang member, who long since left the gang and moved away from town. He brings in a suitcase containing the halved body of Tuff, who previously ran from the petrol station when the transmission broke in the car, to scare Herbie. Herbie tells him where the other man is and Richard hugs him, before stabbing him.
The next day, Richard arrives in a nearby town where the final gang member, Mark, lives. On a suburban street, two boys arrive home to their mother, with a gas mask and a knife claiming a soldier who knew their dad gave it to them. Mark takes the kids in the car to find this man and when he does, Richard, waiting outside in the bushes, arrives at the house. He talks with the children's mother and asks her to let her husband know that he is Richard, Anthony's brother. When Mark returns home to a worried wife, she explains the conversation to her husband. Terrified, he tells her, portrayed via flashback, how the gang abused Anthony's mental disability: Forcing him to take drugs with them, Sonny trying to force Anthony to perform oral sex on him (Anthony is hit over the head with a pan when he refuses), subjecting him to beatings and encouraging him to have sex with a female hanger-on to the gang. The abuse culminated with them pretending to hang him at a local ruined castle whilst he was high on acid. This final episode of abuse culminates with Anthony actually hanging himself after his 'friends' run off. It then becomes clear that Richard has been alone the whole time.
The next morning, Richard sneaks into the Mark's house and takes him hostage using a knife. He makes him drive to the same ruined building where Anthony hanged himself and demands he tell him his part in what happened. Mark explains how his fault was in not stopping the abuse. Richard admits to having been ashamed of his own brother's disability; this links to an earlier scene where he sits with the hallucination of his brother and appears upset when Anthony tells him that everyone other than Richard held his hand when they were children. Richard, seemingly battling with his own demons and regret, realizes that Mark is not the monster he expected and confesses to his crimes against the other men. He tells the terrified Mark how he now feels like the monster and that he simply wants to lie down with his brother. Richard gives the knife to Mark and demands that he kill him lest he continue his monstrous ways. Mark refuses but Richard clasps his hands and pulls him toward him, as he does so the sobbing man stabs Richard, as requested. Distraught and covered in blood, Mark leaves the ruin, stumbling away like the monster Richard expected him to be. The film ends with the camera panning across the beautiful Peak district landscape.
. Several additional songs written by other artists on Warp Records
appear on the film's soundtrack.
in October 2004.
Tracks that appeared in the film but not on the soundtrack album include "Monkey Hair Hide" by The Leisure Society
, "A King at Night" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy
, "De Profundis" by Arvo Pärt
, "Let My Prayer Arise" by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
, "Chinese Water Python" by Robyn Hitchcock
and "Sunny Days" by Position Normal
magazine's "201 Greatest Movies Of All Time" feature in the March 2006 issue. It also made other appearances in the magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time where it was ranked at number 462 and in October 2011 where it came 27th in the "100 Best British Films Ever"
Paddy Considine won "Best British Actor" at the 2005 Empire Awards
, beating, amongst others, Simon Pegg
for Shaun of the Dead
and Daniel Craig
for Layer Cake
. Toby Kebbell
was nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards
.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
co-written and directed by Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
and Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine
Patrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...
, the latter of whom also stars.
Plot
The story details the return of Richard (Paddy Considine), from somewhere as yet unknown, to his small home town of Matlock, Derbyshire in the Peak District, England. Richard and his younger, mentally impaired brother Anthony, camp at an abandoned farm near the town, their reminiscences of childhood and flashbacks through old home video footage emphasizing the bond between them. Their reminiscence is intermittently broken by flashbacks of Anthony's abuse by an unknown group of men and Richard's subsequent revenge. In the opening line of the film, Richard narrates "God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into Heaven. I can't live with that."This revenge begins when Richard and Anthony are sitting in a pool hall. Richard is watching a local thug (Herbie) deal drugs. Herbie realizes Richard staring at him and confronts him, to be shocked at Richard's angry response. Herbie quietly backs away and leaves. Richard follows Herbie to the building from which the gang's boss, Sonny, runs his drug business. With Sonny, he swaps his drugs money for another batch of drugs. As he leaves the building, he is confronted by Richard who apologizes profusely for his rude behaviour. A confused Herbie accepts his apology and runs away, terrified. That night, Herbie and friends Soz and Tuff are in a flat taking drugs. He tells them about the man in the pool hall and states he thinks he might be Anthony's brother, who has been away serving in the Army. The men are visibly shaken when this is said. When Herbie leaves he sees a man in an army gas mask banging on the front door of the block. Soz and Tuff run outside but the man is nowhere to be seen. When they go back in their flat they discover Richard has ransacked it, stolen the drugs and spray painted threats on the walls. The next day the thugs visit Sonny to explain where the drugs went. When they meet, Sonny has had his face painted but doesn't realize. The 2 other gang members arrive during this time and they have had their hair and clothes painted as well. They all suspect one another of playing games until Herbie states that the man he saw in the pool hall is Richard, Anthony's brother. All of the gang become silent as they realize that Richard is back in town. They sit in silence, their amazed faces interspersed with flashbacks of how they mistreated Richard's younger retarded brother, particularly one flashback where Sonny tells an inebriated Anthony that his brother left to join the army because he was so ashamed of having a mentally disabled brother. The men decide that they must find Richard and confront him together, there being safety in numbers. They encounter him whilst driving in their Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
. Sonny confronts Richard and tries to intimidate him. It doesn't work and Richard explains how he toyed with the idea of cutting Sonny's throat while he painted his face the previous night. He makes it clear that he is not scared of any of them and invites them to come and find him at the old farm where he is staying. The gang leaves with Sonny visibly concerned at Richard's apparent lack of fear.
Things soon turn nasty that evening as Richard sneaks into a house where the gang are hiding out and playing cards. He brutally kills one of the members with an axe, using the dead man's blood to scribble the words "One Down" on the wall. Sonny decides that they should shoot Richard. The next morning, they take their car and go to the farm where Richard is staying with Anthony. Sending in Big Al (one of their members) to draw Richard out, Sonny prepares to shoot him with a rifle and their only bullet. However, he misses and kills Al. With no bullets remaining in the rifle they retreat and return back to town, whilst Richard smiles.
The surviving members return to a local petrol station where Tuff runs off, scared of Richard's revenge. The car can't start, so the remaining three decide to walk back to town. When they arrive at Sonny's house, they arm themselves and search the place, expecting Richard to be there. They do not find him, despite the fact that he is hiding in the kitchen pantry. While they are upstairs Richard laces their kettle with a cocktail of the drugs he took from the gang earlier in the film. The three men become completely intoxicated a few hours later and Richard reappears to kill them one by one. He toys with them, dancing and joking. He drags the inebriated Sonny into the kitchen, puts a plastic bag over his head and shoots him atop the head. Next, kills Soz with an upward palm strike, seemingly sending the bone of the nose into the brain. Finally he sits with Herbie and offers to let him live if he discloses the whereabouts of the final original gang member, who long since left the gang and moved away from town. He brings in a suitcase containing the halved body of Tuff, who previously ran from the petrol station when the transmission broke in the car, to scare Herbie. Herbie tells him where the other man is and Richard hugs him, before stabbing him.
The next day, Richard arrives in a nearby town where the final gang member, Mark, lives. On a suburban street, two boys arrive home to their mother, with a gas mask and a knife claiming a soldier who knew their dad gave it to them. Mark takes the kids in the car to find this man and when he does, Richard, waiting outside in the bushes, arrives at the house. He talks with the children's mother and asks her to let her husband know that he is Richard, Anthony's brother. When Mark returns home to a worried wife, she explains the conversation to her husband. Terrified, he tells her, portrayed via flashback, how the gang abused Anthony's mental disability: Forcing him to take drugs with them, Sonny trying to force Anthony to perform oral sex on him (Anthony is hit over the head with a pan when he refuses), subjecting him to beatings and encouraging him to have sex with a female hanger-on to the gang. The abuse culminated with them pretending to hang him at a local ruined castle whilst he was high on acid. This final episode of abuse culminates with Anthony actually hanging himself after his 'friends' run off. It then becomes clear that Richard has been alone the whole time.
The next morning, Richard sneaks into the Mark's house and takes him hostage using a knife. He makes him drive to the same ruined building where Anthony hanged himself and demands he tell him his part in what happened. Mark explains how his fault was in not stopping the abuse. Richard admits to having been ashamed of his own brother's disability; this links to an earlier scene where he sits with the hallucination of his brother and appears upset when Anthony tells him that everyone other than Richard held his hand when they were children. Richard, seemingly battling with his own demons and regret, realizes that Mark is not the monster he expected and confesses to his crimes against the other men. He tells the terrified Mark how he now feels like the monster and that he simply wants to lie down with his brother. Richard gives the knife to Mark and demands that he kill him lest he continue his monstrous ways. Mark refuses but Richard clasps his hands and pulls him toward him, as he does so the sobbing man stabs Richard, as requested. Distraught and covered in blood, Mark leaves the ruin, stumbling away like the monster Richard expected him to be. The film ends with the camera panning across the beautiful Peak district landscape.
Cast
- Paddy ConsidinePaddy ConsidinePatrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...
as Richard - Toby KebbellToby KebbellTobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell is a British actor.-Life and career:Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire...
as Anthony - Gary StretchGary StretchGary Stretch is a British boxer, male model, and an actor.-Early life:Gary Stretch was brought up in the Haresfinch area of St. Helens, the son of a plumber...
as Sonny - Emily Aston as Patti
- Neil BellNeil Bell (actor)Neil Bell is a British actor, mainly on UK TV and in occasional films.Bell studied drama at Oldham College and has played character roles in such TV series as Buried, Shameless, Murphy's Law, Ideal, City Lights, The Bill and Casualty, and the films 24 Hour Party People and Dead Man's Shoes...
as Soz - Jo Hartley as Jo
- Seamus O'Neil as Big Al
- Stuart Wolfenden as Herbie
- Paul Sadot as Tuff
- Paul Hurstfield as Mark
- George Newton as Gypsy John
- Craig Considine as Craig
- Matt Considine as Matt
- Andrew ShimAndrew ShimAndrew Shim is a British actor best known for his appearances in the films of Shane Meadows, especially This Is England.-Early life:...
as Elvis
Music
Dead Man's Shoes features music from, amongst others, Aphex TwinAphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
. Several additional songs written by other artists on Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
appear on the film's soundtrack.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released by Warp RecordsWarp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
in October 2004.
- Smog – "Vessel in VainSupper (album)Supper is Smog's tenth album, released in March 2003 on Domino Records in Europe and on Drag City in North America under his then-alias '...
" - Calexico – "Untitled IIHot RailHot Rail is the third studio album of Arizona indie rock band Calexico. It was released May 9, 2000 on Quarterstick Records.-Track listing:# "El Picador" – 3:14# "Ballad of Cable Hogue" – 3:29...
" - Calexico – "Untitled III"
- Adem – "StatuedHomesongsHomesongs is the debut album by British singer/songwriter Adem Ilhan, who was previously best known for his work in the band Fridge with Kieran Hebden. It contains the singles "Ringing in My Ear" and "These Are Your Friends". The album's title alludes to the fact that the album was recorded...
" - Calexico – "Ritual Road Map"
- Laurent GarnierLaurent GarnierLaurent Garnier , is a French techno music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJ-ing in Manchester during the late 1980s. By the following decade, he had a broad stylistic range, able to span deep house, Detroit techno, trance and jazz...
– "Forgotten Thoughts" - The EarliesThe EarliesThe Earlies are a band formed by Christian Madden and Giles Hatton from Lancashire, England, and Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham from the United States...
– "Morning WonderThese Were the Earlies-Track listing:#"In the Beginning..." – 0:26#"One of Us Is Dead" – 5:56#"Wayward Song" – 6:16#"Slow Man's Dream" – 4:49#"25 Easy Pieces" – 4:51#"Morning Wonder" – 5:34#"The Devil's Country" – 5:50#"Song for #3" – 4:15#"Lows" – 4:46...
" - Richard HawleyRichard HawleyRichard Hawley is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. He later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker...
– "Steel 2" - ClayhillClayhillClayhill are a British 3-piece folk band comprising Ali Friend, Ted Barnes and vocalist Gavin Clark. They released their debut album, Small Circle in 2004, and have released 2 E.P.s and a further L.P. Mine at Last in 2006...
– "Afterlight" - Calexico – "Crooked Road and the Briar"
- Lucky DragonsLucky DragonsLucky Dragons is an experimental music group consisting of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara. Based in Los Angeles, California, the band are noted for their unusual sound, described as having the ability to make "'everyday sounds' become alluringly other"....
– "Heartbreaker" - GravenhurstGravenhurst (band)Gravenhurst is a vehicle for the music of the singer-songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, Nick Talbot, who lives in Bristol, England and is signed to Warp Records.-History:...
– "The DiverFlashlight Seasons-Track listing:# "Tunnels" - 4:44# "Fog Round The Figurehead" - 4:40# "I Turn My Face To The Forest Floor" - 3:52# "Bluebeard" - 4:26# "The Diver" - 5:29# "East Of The City" - 2:36# "Damage" - 4:23# "Damage II" - 3:05# "The Ice Tree" - 5:29...
" - Cul de Sac – "I Remember Nothing More"
- P.G. Six – "The Fallen Leaves That Jewel the Ground"
- Amor Belhom Duo BC – "Pluie Sans Nuages"
- Aphex TwinAphex TwinRichard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
– "Nanou 2DrukqsDrukqs is a 2001 double album by electronic musician Richard D. James, released under his most frequently used pseudonym, Aphex Twin...
" - M. WardM. WardMatthew Stephen Ward, known by his stage name M. Ward, is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who rose to prominence in the Portland, Oregon music scene. In addition to his solo work he is known as a member of She & Him and Monsters of Folk.-Career:...
– "Dead ManTransfiguration of VincentTransfiguration of Vincent, released in 2003, is the third studio album by singer-songwriter M. Ward. The title alludes to the 1965 album The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey, and refers to the life and death of Vincent O'Brien, a close friend to Ward.-Reception:Transfiguration of...
" - DMDanger MouseBrian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
& JeminiJemini the Gifted OneJemini the Gifted One , better known as Jemini, is a rapper from Brooklyn who has worked with DJ Danger Mouse, most notably on the rap/pop album Ghetto Pop Life...
– ""The Only One"
Tracks that appeared in the film but not on the soundtrack album include "Monkey Hair Hide" by The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society is a band formed by Nick Hemming, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels which included actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton. Hemming wrote and performed music for the films A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes...
, "A King at Night" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
, "De Profundis" by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, "Let My Prayer Arise" by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's principal conductor and artistic director until September 2008,...
, "Chinese Water Python" by Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
and "Sunny Days" by Position Normal
Reception
The film was ranked number 180 in EmpireEmpire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's "201 Greatest Movies Of All Time" feature in the March 2006 issue. It also made other appearances in the magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time where it was ranked at number 462 and in October 2011 where it came 27th in the "100 Best British Films Ever"
Paddy Considine won "Best British Actor" at the 2005 Empire Awards
Empire Awards
An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented...
, beating, amongst others, Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
for Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
and Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
for Layer Cake
Layer Cake (film)
Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...
. Toby Kebbell
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell is a British actor.-Life and career:Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire...
was nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
.