Movie – Dead Man Down

By Shane Pinnegar
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, Starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard
7/10

Spoiler alert!

Colin Farrell’s Victor is a man with his eyes set firmly upon revenge in Dead Man Down. As a part of Alphonse’s (a chilling Terence Howard) gang of strongarms and hoodlums, he seems initially to be a fairly simple character running with the wrong sort.

As his past slowly becomes apparent though, his real motivations and goals start to reveal themselves, and hooking up with Noomi Rapace’s (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) Beatrice – disfigured courtesy of a drunk driver – threads start to coalesce, a hesitant love starts to form, and their story is touchingly – and violently – rendered by director Niels Arden Oplev (whose background in TV and with the original Swedish Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with Rapace fuel him with a deft hand).

United in their revenge and finding the glimmer of a future neither thought they dare might hope for, Victor & Beatrice lead us on a gripping ride all the way up to the final segment, which sadly leaves behind the more intriguing love story (brilliantly acted by the leads, it must be said) and instead falls into a clichéd shoot-‘em-up ending that, with a little more thinking, could have retained the taut and engaging touch of the rest of the movie.

 

Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews