DEAD MAN'S SHOES

One by one, Richard starts paying visits to the local dealers Anthony used to hang around with when there was no one looking out for him. At first, he simply watches them. Then he starts making threats. And then things turn really nasty.

DEAD MAN'S SHOES was the first feature-length production from Warp Films, the film offshoot of the legendary record label Warp Records, which helped propel Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada to success. A £700,000 budget, three weeks of shooting in Matlock and the surrounding towns, the entire crew travelling in a single minibus – and a script that barely existed: director Shane Meadows and co-writer Paddy Considine had an outline of the story, while most of the dialogue was worked out on set. Toby Kebbell, now a familiar face, joined the cast in the final week of filming and made his screen debut in the film.

DEAD MAN'S SHOES is quite possibly the only film in cinema history to combine British social realism with the spaghetti western and the slasher: a stranger rides into a small town where everyone knows the truth, but no one is prepared to talk about it. Considine plays Richard like a walking ghost, spending part of the film roaming around in a gas mask and military coat. The soundtrack, featuring tracks by Aphex Twin, Calexico, and M. Ward, is unexpectedly lyrical, only heightening the sense that what we are watching is less a thriller than a brutal film about grief.

Because although DEAD MAN'S SHOES is, formally, a revenge film, Meadows moves far beyond the straightforward narratives of films such as DEATH WISH and denies the audience the satisfaction they might expect. Vengeance here is bleak and mechanical, and taking revenge on those responsible brings no solace.

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Text: dr Grzegorz Fortuna