I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
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Movie Reviews of I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Movie Review: First Rate Revenge Thriller Which Moves Deliberately
Summary: 4 Stars
Davey Graham (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a charming young opportunist who deals a bit in drugs, beds the socialites he sells to and takes money from their purses. He seems to be leading a happy, careless London life until late one night, leaving the bed and the apartment of a wealthy young woman, he is grabbed by two men and hustled into an alley. There, a third man, older and contemptuous (Malcolm McDowell), tears down Davey's' trousers. While the two goons hold Davey over some tires, the man inexplicably rapes him. Davey staggers back to his apartment, fills the tub with cold water and sinks into it fully dressed. Ten hours later, still in the tub, Davey cuts his throat. The rest of this stylish, glum noir tells the story of Davey's older brother Will (Clive Owen). Will had been a feared enforcer for the London mobs but had dropped out three years before and disappeared, living in a camper and doing manual labor. He feels he has wasted his life and now lives alone. When he learns of his brother's death, and learns of the rape, Will is determined to find the man responsible and wreak his own form of justice. And when he returns to London, he finds the gang leaders don't like it.
Mike Hodges directed the great Get Carter with Michael Caine and the near great Croupier, also with Owen. He does a fine job here. Hodges doesn't waste a lot of time on narrative, so you have to pay attention. You also need to fill in a little background on your own, which keeps the movie interesting. The story line is all about revenge. The film sets its own pace and moves relentlessly. The look of the movie is first-rate. It's neo-noir, all dark shadows, sullen, tough or sad characters and barely repressed violence. When violence does happen, it's startling. Clive Owen has little to say in the movie. He acts with his eyes. Malcolm McDowell has a hammer-lock on contemptuous disdain; he doesn't have much time on screen, but what there is, is noteworthy.
I liked the movie a lot, even though it sets a deliberate pace. Stay with it and you'll be rewarded. The DVD presentation is excellent. There are no extras.
Movie Review: I'll Sleep When I'm Done This Review
Summary: 4 Stars
Hard to understand why people are not getting this terrific movie. In Croupier, also starring Owens, Mike Hodges evoked a brooding, existential London sub-culture where motives were always unclear and character was never divided between good and evil. Croupier was slow, wonderful to watch, and oozed irrational malice. It drew viewers in just as the unholy lure of gambling draws in prospective addicts.
In I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Hodges weaves the same gossamer spell. There is little story, plenty of characters, but very little character development. These people don't follow a traditional formula; they bump into each other like boats in a harbor - just like real life. The cinematography, music, and overall vibe create a classic modern noir sensibility, and like the best noir, there is no underpinning of justice or rationality to make us feel good about how things turn out. Admittedly, these characters are sketched, not painted, but it is amazing how much we can surmise from just a few carefully selected details.
Most wonderful of all, this is a cynical gangster picture with almost no violence. (Lesser practitioners of moviemaking please take note!) The sense of dread, of impending doom, is where it should be, inside the viewer's imagination. Unlike other reviewers who were dissatisfied with McDowell's motivation, I thought it was inspired - so frequently the most hideous injustices are dished out for reasons no nobler than personal insecurities and jealousy.
Owen is always worth watching, regardless. Here he is surrounded by major talent, Malcolm McDowell and Charlotte Rampling. Both are under-utilized, shall we say, but it's always nice to see them. Rampling, nearly 60, looks amazing, still a real beauty with a fragile yet compelling persona. If you'd like to see her tear the scenery apart, check out The Night Porter.
When Will gets his shave and suits up for the hit, was anybody else reminded of that wonderful scene in Cat Ballou when Lee Marvin puts on his best gunslinger outfit (with scarf!) to take on the man with a tin nose?
Movie Review: A Dark, Brooding Insight into Vengeance and Revenge
Summary: 4 Stars
Mike Hodges respects his audience: rarely does he forget that viewers have the intelligence to piece together the puzzles he creates. Though his films have memorable characters, those characters are enhanced more by what is not said about them than superfluous dialogue and proscenium staging. And while this approach to film making does require participation, the end result is well worth the journey.
Early on in the film we encounter Will Graham (Clive Owen), a disheveled loner who lives out in the country in the back of a van. There is something sinister about this man but there is also something intangibly innocent. We gradually learn that he has been away from a life in the underbelly of London, making little to no contact with his lover (Charlotte Rampling) or his younger brother Davey (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers).
Flash into the midst of Davey's comings and goings as a minor drug dealer and gigolo and we see the grimy world Will has left behind. Out late one night on a drug deal and female servicing gig, Davey tries to find his way back to his lowlife flat (his landlady is the amazing Sylvia Sims!), but in the process he is chased and captured and raped by a wealthy car dealer (Malcolm McDowell). Decimated, he finds his way home, sits in his bathtub fully clothed, and commits suicide.
When Will is informed of Davey's suicide, he returns to London and with the help of his old gang and lover, he sets on a track of trying to understand why Davey committed suicide, only to pursue the perpetrator to a grisly end.
There are no secrets to the plot - it is all in the first few minutes. The pleasure of this darkly written, photographed, edited and scored film is in the acting and the collaboration Hodges requires of the viewer. Less is more, here, and for those who enjoy film noir, this is a very strong movie. Grady Harp, November 2004
Movie Review: A tense, crime drama, not for your typical action fan.
Summary: 4 Stars
I will say right off that if you are looking for a mob/action/revenge/shoot 'em up thriller, this surely isn't the picture you're looking for. Despite it's slick trailer, which makes it seem like it may be a violent revenge flick, it really has no action, gunfights, or fisticuffs. What made this film work for me was the tense pace of the film. It really drove me to it's final few minutes in just as quick a time as if there were action scenes galore.
For the first 90 minutes, we get a very different Clive Owen than the one on the DVD cover. We get the unkempt, unshaven, drifter he has been for 3 years, until he tries to contact his younger brother, and finds he has committed suicide due to a heinous crime inflicted against him. You only get the clean cut Clive for the final 10 minutes, but it's an effective transformation, and I didn't mind it coming so late.
Each player involved in this setting is shown contemplating the events about to unfold. Will (Clive Owen) strolls back into London, meets back up with his old girl (Charlotte Rampling), ensues fear in the rival crime boss, and gets a visit from his old gang mates. While a lot of the aspects never fully conclude, it's quite alright as the film succeeds in merely showing their developments, which are just as intriguing as if all loose ends were tied. The film's score and cinematography play a big part in this, as well as credible performances by all involved.
Movie Review: As blunt, cold and sharp-edged as a brand new brick
Summary: 4 Stars
I can see why some viewers might be disappointed with this film: the box art (with Owen looking like a "Mad Max"-era Mel Gibson starring in "Payback," not to mention that unfortunately misleading pistol standing in for the "L" in the title, Sopranos' style) promises something quite different from what the movie actually is.
What it is is cold, calculating and deliberately paced. Rather than sudden bursts of violence, this movie looks at how one particularly dire act of cruelty affects a group.
I know I'm in the minority but I wasn't exactly blown away by "Croupier," the previous collaboration between Hodges and Owen. It started off with a shrewd intelligence and introduced me to a world I didn't know but was eager to learn about. And then it kind of seemed to get lost along the way.
"Sleep," however, never lets down on its initial promise. It is almost Leone-esque in its gradually escalating tension and, though Owen is a blank he's a blank for a very particular reason. He's clearly capable of dishing out nastiness... but when is he going to act. That's a question that haunts the entire story.
I found it even more satisfying than the similar "Sexy Beast" and, in creating and sustaining a sense of contemporary dread, it's more discomforting than most current "horror" films.