Dead Man’s Shoes

“God will forgive them. He’ll forgive them and allow them into heaven. I can’t allow that.” So begins Shane Meadows’ haunting and violent revenge thriller, Dead Man’s Shoes. When a British soldier returns to his backwater Midlands village to find his mentally challenged brother has been violated by a gang of local goons, he takes it upon himself to eliminate the thugs one by one. The vengeful, steely intensity of Paddy Considine’s performance has been compared to DeNiro as Travis Bickle. Released in Britain in 2004 to high praise, and boasting an outstanding soundtrack, the film never gained traction here; it will undoubtedly slip onto the current-release shelf and then vanish. But like so many forgotten hard-boiled thrillers of the past—Edgar Ulmer’s Detour comes to mind—Dead Man’s Shoes stands a chance of gaining a much-deserved cult following.