Line #76 Film/DeadMansShoes


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5nhk6b1s_160.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Richard and Anthony]]
3	->''"God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into heaven. I can't live with that."''
4	-->-- '''Richard''' (opening lines)
5
6	''Dead Man's Shoes'' is a 2004 British revenge thriller directed by Creator/ShaneMeadows, who co-wrote it with star Creator/PaddyConsidine.
7
8	Richard (Considine) is a squaddie who has left the army and returned to his home town. Not for a happy family reunion, but to brutally murder the gang of drug dealers who tormented his autistic younger brother, Anthony (Creator/TobyKebbell), after he left to join the forces.
9
10	Notable for its very dark tone, a squalid setting in a dismal overcast town, and standout performances from Considine (as Richard), Kebbell (as Anthony), and Gary Stretch (as Sonny, the leader of the gangsters), all of whom were subsequently nominated for awards.
11	----
12
13	!!This film provides examples of:
14	* ActorAllusion: The boxing gloves hanging up in Sonny's house (actor Gary Stretch is a professional boxer).
15	* TheAllegedCar: The villains drive an ancient Citroën that one of them had apparently inherited from his grandmother, complete with a MyCarHatesMe moment when Richard is advancing on them with an axe.
16	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Richard's favorite tactic for freaking people out is to leave evidence that he's been on their turf
17	* AloofBigBrother: Is putting it nicely.
18	* AntiHero: Richard is a sympathetic SerialKiller; his victims are the gang who bullied his mentally disabled younger brother when they were teenagers and [[spoiler:drove him to suicide]].
19	* TheAtoner:
20	** This is a possible interpretation for Richard's actions. [[spoiler: He actually hated and was disgusted by his brother's mental condition, and his revenge on the bullies who tormented and drove Anthony to suicide are at least partly driven by guilt.]]
21	** The final member of the gang Richard hunts down is also depicted to be this, being the only member we see express genuine remorse over their actions towards Anthony (as opposed to simply fear of his brother's retribution) and having moved away from his former life.
22	* BeardOfSorrow: In FlashBack we see Richard clean shaven in his army uniform [[spoiler:at his brother's funeral]], yet in the present day he's got a somewhat scraggly beard.
23	* BestServedCold: As especially evidenced by his confrontation with Sonny, Richard is completely calm and calculated in his execution.
24	* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[spoiler:The thugs toyed with and tormented Anthony, which inadvertently led to his suicide. Richard brutally slaughters the thugs. Neither side is exactly in the right]].
25	* BlackComedy: There are some moments of very dark humour sprinkled throughout.
26	* TheBully: All of the gang members, but especially Sonny.
27	* BullyHunter: Richard
28	* CouldntFindAPen: After brutally killing the first gang member with an axe, Richard uses the dead man's blood to smear the words "One Down" on the wall.
29	* CountryMatters: When a member of the gang threateningly asks him what he's looking at in a pub, Richard responds with an unhinged snarl: "YOU, YOU CUNT!"
30	* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Anthony has been in Richard's head the whole time, and has clearly driven him completely mad.]]
31	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: the flashbacks.
32	* DiabolusExMachina: [[spoiler: The gearbox breaking.]]
33	* DisproportionateRetribution: Played with. We know from early on that the thugs have done something nasty to Anthony, but he doesn't seem much worse for wear. We find out later that [[spoiler:Anthony is actually dead, having committed suicide as a result of their cruelty. Even still, the thugs never intended for Anthony to die, so murdering them all in as cruel a means as possible is still pretty disproportionate]].
34	* DragonTheirFeet: Just before the third act, only Sonny and two other gang members are left alive. Richard ends up drugging them in secret and once that happens, [[spoiler:he pretty casually drags Sonny into another room and unceremoniously shoots him in the head, leaving only two members left. They don’t survive much longer, however.]]
35	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Anthony. And Richard, in a way.]]
36	* DrugsAreBad: "You know why people give kids drugs? So they can control their minds. 'cause they're fucking weak-minded themselves."
37	* FanDisservice: Sonny forces a girl to have sex with Anthony, a developmentally disabled teenager being bullied by a gang.
38	* FlyawayShot: The film ends with the camera flying out like an angel going to heaven.
39	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
40	** Both the conversation about the school sports day and the lyrics to the opening track "Vessel in Vain."
41	** [[spoiler: Anthony is never seen without Richard, and is always wearing the same clothes as in the flashbacks.]]
42	* {{Flashback}}: Anthony's story is told in grainy monochrome flashbacks.
43	* GasMaskMooks: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Richard, who uses one to freak out the drugged gangsters. Herbie thinks he's an elephant.
44	* GenreMashup: It's basically one of Meadows's typical {{Kitchen Sink Drama}}s crossed with a SlasherMovie.
45	* HappierHomeMovie: The opening consists of heartwarming video footage of Richard and Anthony as little kids.
46	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Richard; "You, you were supposed to be a monster - now I'm the fucking beast. There's [[TheseHandsHaveKilled blood on my hands]], from what you made me do."
47	* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler: Richard's "suicide" scene.]]
48	* IHaveAFamily
49	* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: The thugs shoot one of their own. Needless to say, Richard is greatly amused.
50	* ImplacableMan: Richard, particularly the scene where he comes slowly striding up to a car full of gangsters with an axe in hand, as they try desperately to start the car.
51	* {{Improv}}: Many of the scenes, especially those of the villains chatting to one another, were improvised.
52	* ItsPersonal: And how.
53	* KatanasAreJustBetter: {{Subverted}}: wielding a katana doesn't do Richard's prey much good at all. It pretty much highlights the way the villains do everything they think badass gangsters should, while their opponent is a no-nonsense CombatPragmatist.
54	* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Somewhat after the fact, Richard returns from the army after discovering his brother has been bullied and goes about giving the bullies a taste of their own medicine with interest.
55	* MindScrew: In-universe
56	* MoodWhiplash: The film frequently segues from light-hearted banter to some pretty graphic physical or psychological violence.
57	* MookHorrorShow: In particular the MushroomSamba scene. Coming downstairs, stoned, to find a [[GasMaskMooks man in a gas mask]] staring through the window? Yikes.
58	* MurderSuicide: This is Richard's plan.
59	* MushroomSamba: Richard drugs some of the thugs with hallucinogens so his MindScrew will be all the scarier. It's also used as a method of forcing the gangsters to "empathise" by giving them the same mental capacity as his brother.
60	* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: The thugs go after Richard with a rifle while he's armed only with a wood axe. It ends poorly for the thugs.
61	* NewOldWest: A rare British example, taking Western themes and setting them in Matlock.
62	* OhCrap: The gang's reaction when they find out who Richard is.
63	* OneHitKill: [[spoiler:Richard kills Soz with an open-palm strike to the nose, likening it to "shutting him off".]]
64	* PayEvilUntoEvil: Not only is Richard determined to [[GottaKillThemAll kill 'em all]] but he wants to inflict just as much psychological damage as was dished out to his brother.
65	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:The fact that Anthony was [[DeadAllAlong dead all along]], becomes apparent only towards the end of the movie.]]
66	* {{Revenge}}: Richard wants to avenge the trauma suffered by his brother Anthony
67	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Richard's quest to kill the gang of petty criminals who tormented his brother.
68	* RuleOfScary:
69	** Why is he wearing a gas mask? Because it's ''fucking creepy''.
70	** Richard manages to start off the film making an ''apology'' a disturbing experience for the recipient.
71	* SceneryPorn: There are a lot of lovely shots of the beautiful scenery of the Midlands -- all the better to contrast with the depressing village setting.
72	* SeinfeldianConversation: "I love English cock." And loads of others.
73	* SerialKiller: Richard, though his motive makes him more sympathetic than most examples.
74	** Technically, Richard is a spree killer since all of his killings are implied to occur in under thirty days.
75	* ShellShockedVeteran: A possible interpretation of Richard.
76	* SoundtrackDissonance
77	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: [[spoiler:Mark.]]
78	* TimePassesMontage: The movie begins with a montage of Super8 footage of Richard and Anthony growing up.
79	* VigilanteMan
80	* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"He was a fucking embarrassment to me".]] This completely changes the audience's perception of [[spoiler:Richard's motivation for the murders and his relationship with his brother]].

Context Film / DeadMansShoes