Two brothers return to the home town they left years before. They are close, but very different: Richard is strong and purposeful, Anthony younger, more hesitant. Everything Richard does, Anthony innocently mimics. He is slightly retarded and completely in awe of his brother, who in turn is very protective of him. They set up camp in the hills overlooking the town, reminiscing over their shared past. But they're not here to reminisce. Richard is here for revenge.
He knows who he wants and he knows where they live. The town he left eight years ago is still run by the same gang of small-time drug dealers and thugs. The threat of his presence is enough to instill suspicion and paranoia. Why is he back? What does he want? Who is he after?
A fantastic performance from Considine and a darker, yet still distinctive filmmaking style from Shane Meadows make this revenge thriller one of the most surprising movies of the year.
STILLS
BACKGROUND (taken
from a Channel4 interview)
"I felt, in a way, as though I'd lost
my way after Midlands. I was desperate to get back to being honest
with myself in my next film. I had already been feeling this way
and then happened to take a trip back to Uttoxeter, the town I
grew up in. I was overwhelmed with sadness at what I saw there,
and at some of the memories the visit jogged in me. We used to
take a lot of drugs as we were growing up - there was nothing
else to do to have fun - and some appalling tragedies happened
as a result.
A close friend of mine who had been bullied developed a drug problem
and then committed suicide. I couldn't believe that, going back
ten years later, he had been totally forgotten in the town - it
was as if he had never existed."
"I was filled with anger against the
people who had bullied and pushed the drugs on him, and with despair
at what drugs had done to that small community. What was done
in the name of recreation had had such devastating results. I
started to wonder what might happen if someone chose to try to
right the wrongs that had been done, instead of ignoring the terrible
tragedy of it all."
Take a look at the transcript of Shane's talk at the Brief Encounters
short film festival in the EXTRAS section for more background
information.
MUSIC
Singer / song-writer Nick Hemming has very kindly donated the song 'Monkey Hair Hide' to the site.
The track features in the film, but is not on the commercially released soundtrack CD.
Right click and 'Save As' to
download the MP3 file, or click the Play button to listen.
There is a credit at the end of the film which
reads: "Director's Bodyguard - Tank Bullock". Tank Bullock
is the character from 'Tank's Top Tips', the low-budget film making
guides featured in Shane's World.
The old footage at the beginning of the film depicting Richard
and Anthony as children is actually home movie footage which the
producer's uncle provided.
The two young boys that feature towards the
end of the film are Paddy Considine's nephews.
Shane Meadows' Mother and Father appear in one scene of the film
alongside Andrew Shim (who played Romeo in A Room For Romeo Brass,
and Donut in Once Upon A Time in the Midlands).
LINKS .... (visit the MEDIA page for audio and video links).
BBC4
Video Interview
Stuart Maconie interviews Shane about Dead Man's Shoes on the
BBC4 show 'The DVD Collection'.
BBC
Radio Nottingham Interview Shane Meadows and Toby Kebbell interviewed
about Dead Man's Shoes and more.. Check the top-right of the Radio
Nottingham page for the audio links.
BBC.co.uk
at Edinburgh Film Festival 2004
Listen to two short audio clips of Shane talking about the reaction
to Dead Man's Shoes at the festival, and his short film making.
The article on the page is basically a transcript of the audio.
Dean Rogers
- Photography
Stunning collection of on-set photography from A Room For Romeo
Brass, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, and Dead Man's Shoes.
Jigsaw
Lounge Interview An interesting interview about the production
of Dead Man's Shoes at the time of the films premier at the Edinburgh
Film Festival 2004. CONTAINS SPOILERS!
BBC.co.uk
Interview circa the release of Dead Man's
Shoes.
Channel4.com Interview circa the release of Dead Man's Shoes.
Telegraph.co.uk
Interview circa the release of Dead Man's
Shoes.
LazurusCorporation.co.uk A nice in depth article and interview about Dead Man's Shoes and Shane's early shorts.
LeftLion.co.uk
An interview with Shane on the eve of the release of Dead Man's Shoes.
CAST LIST
Richard
Paddy Considine:
Sonny
Gary Stretch
Anthony
Toby Kebbell
Tuff
Paul Sadot
Herbie
Anthony Wolfenden
Gyspy John
George Newton
Big Al
Seamus O'Neal
Marie Jo Hartley
Mark Paul Herstfield
Patti Emily Aston
Soz Neil Bell
DVD INFO
In Shane's Shoes documentary
Northern Soul short film
Deleted Scenes
Original Ending
Dangermouse Music Video
Short animated section from the Dead Man's Shoes graphic novel.
Commentary with Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine, and producer, Mark Herbert.
