Sunday, July 18, 2004

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead dir. Mike Hodges
Will Graham, a former ganster, returns to London to avenge his brother's death. He reunites with friends and enemies but he mostly ignores them in his solipsistic hunt for revenge. The movie begins with a cryptic set of scenes that set the movie's tough-guy tone, in which the movie itself is the tough guy, without a shred of concern for the audience. Unfortunately the cryptic scenes continue until the mysterious atmosphere become more annoying than artistic. Also, this movie is so humorless it's laughable. Dragged past noir into uber-noir territory, the movie's cinematic grimness is admirably conveyed, so I would recommend this movie for one viewing. But its unnaturally dark pose ultimately reminded me of the pose of angst-ridden Goth teenagers, whose plight comes from stage direction rather than tragedy.

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