I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003 film)

Last updated

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Hodges
Written by Trevor Preston
Produced byMichael Corrente
Mike E.Kaplan
Starring Clive Owen
Charlotte Rampling
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Malcolm McDowell
CinematographyMichael Garfath
Edited byPaul Carlin
Music by Simon Fisher-Turner
Production
company
Will & Co. [1]
Distributed byLagoon Entertainment (United Kingdom) [2] [1]
Paramount Classics (North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Middle East)
Release dates
  • 16 May 2003 (2003-05-16)(Cannes Film Festival)
  • 16 June 2004 (2004-06-16)
Running time
102 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom [1] [2] [3]
United States [2] [3]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$490,964 [4]

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead is a 2003 crime film directed by Mike Hodges (his last film), from a screenplay by Trevor Preston. The film bears striking similarities to Hodges' directorial debut, the classic 1970 crime drama Get Carter . Both films feature men who return to their former hometowns to investigate the death of a brother who has died under mysterious circumstances.

Contents

Plot

Davey Graham arrives at an upper-class party to sell drugs to a woman named Stella. As he leaves, Stella's date watches him and makes a call on his mobile phone. Outside the party, three men are waiting for Davey in a black Range Rover, including a car dealer named Boad. The men follow Davey around London, finally attacking him just as he heads home. Two of the men wait for Davey as Boad lurks down an alley. Both men grab him and one of them holds his hand over his mouth to muffle his cries for help. They drag him off the street and into a garage, where they hold him down as Boad rapes him. At dawn, Davey emerges from the garage and stumbles home, where he draws a bath for himself and gets in fully clothed. Several hours later, his friend Mickser arrives to pick him up. He discovers Davey dead in the bath, with his throat slashed. Mickser visits Helen and asks her how to get in touch with Davey's brother Will. She says that she has stopped receiving letters from Will, who left London three years earlier.

Will has been working in the country as a forester. He's unshaven with long hair and he lives in a van. After he is sacked from his job for having no papers, he heads to the sea to take a ferry out of England when he sees Davey in the terminal. After realizing it is a hallucination, he begins calling Davey's flat. Receiving no answer he returns to London, where he learns that Davey is dead. His return to London stirs up the anxiety of crime boss Frank Turner, who sends word to Will that he should leave town after he buries his brother. Will's old gang urge him to return for good, saying that Turner could be overtaken easily. Will makes it clear that he is not interested in returning to his old life. He visits Helen and apologizes for leaving her. He explains that he has been grieving for 'a life wasted', lamenting the fact that Davey also wasted his.

Will orders a second post-mortem to try to determine why Davey would kill himself. It reveals that he was raped the night before he died, in addition to the fact that Davey ejaculated during the rape. The coroner explains that it was a result of the anal stimulation, surmising that Davey probably killed himself over the shame he felt after involuntarily ejaculating. He refers Will to a psychologist who can explain the phenomenon more eloquently. As Will listens to the psychologist explain the mindset of the rapist and the mental damage of a rape victim, he takes his first drink in three years. Mickser visits the woman who hosted the party where Davey made his sale. The hostess remembers seeing the man make a phone call as Davey left and she tracks down his identity. Will and Mickser visit the man who leads them to Boad. During a dinner party at Boad's house, Will cases the grounds and leaves. Will's cohorts pull a prank at Turner's house, hog-tying one of his bodyguards in a bra and panties. Irate, Turner hires an Irish hitman to retaliate.

Will visits a garage and uncovers a vintage Jaguar. He retrieves a suitcase from the trunk and checks into a hotel. The suitcase is full of money, clothes and a gun. Will has a suit pressed and orders a barber to cut off his long hair and beard. Clean cut and in his suit, he has the Jaguar washed and heads to Boad's house. On his way, he calls Helen and tells her to pack a bag, but Turner's hitman is waiting outside her house. At Boad's, Will trips the alarm on a car in the garage, drawing Boad out of the house. Will kills his dog and then points his gun at Boad, asking him why he raped Davey.

Boad explains that he'd been following Davey for six weeks, fascinated by how fake he was. He hated the way that Davey waltzed through life, conning everyone with good looks and charm. Boad says that he wanted to make Davey realize that he was worthless. Will tells Boad that he will kill him later, because killing him there would be too easy. As he's walking away from the house, he pauses and then returns to the garage and kills Boad. Helen is shown sitting on the staircase in her flat, arms crossed, waiting with Turner's hitman for Will to arrive. The film ends on an ambiguous note as Will watches a man hitting golf balls into the ocean. It is the same shot and voice-over that opens the film. Will speaks about how most thoughts are just memories and after someone is gone, the memories of him are all that's left. He gets into his car and drives off.

Cast

Reception

The film was entered into the 25th Moscow International Film Festival. [5]

The film received mixed reviews and has a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 90 reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead's spare performances and slick style are undermined by a lack of cohesive story, yielding a neatly packaged noir with little substance beneath its polished surface." [6] However, Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that "there is a tangible pleasure in following enigmatic characters through the shadows of their lives; deprived for a time of plot, given characters who are not clearly labeled and assigned moral categories, we're allowed to make judgments based on their manner and speech." [7] In the New York Observer , Andrew Sarris wrote, "Does the film work? All I know is that it stays in my mind for its ambitiously autumnal essence, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea." [8] According to Owen Gleiberman, "Hodges...still knows how to unspool a mystery with a hypnotic pace of sadistic intrigue." [9]

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe reviewed the film negatively, writing that it "feels undernourished in plot, characterization, and dialogue, and what should play with minimalist high tension is allowed to sag lower and lower until it simply grounds out. The result is a revenge thriller that's too taken with its own ambience to actually thrill". [10]

Box office

The film was released on 16 June 2004 and grossed $13,415 in the opening weekend. It went on to gross $360,759 domestically and $130,205 in the foreign markets for a worldwide total of $490,964. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Prizzis Honor</i> 1985 film by John Huston

Prizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy crime film directed by John Huston, starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner as two highly skilled mob assassins who, after falling in love, are hired to kill each other. The screenplay co-written by Richard Condon is based on his 1982 novel of the same name. The film's supporting cast includes Anjelica Huston, Robert Loggia, John Randolph, CCH Pounder, Lawrence Tierney, and William Hickey. Stanley Tucci appears in a minor role in his film debut. It was the last of John Huston's films to be released during his lifetime.

<i>Unforgiven</i> 1992 film by Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny (Eastwood), an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, years after he had turned to farming. The film co-stars Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris.

<i>About Schmidt</i> 2002 American film

About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. After it was released in theaters by New Line Cinema on December 13, 2002, the film enjoyed both critical and commercial success, earning $105.8 million on a $30 million budget.

<i>The Morning After</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Sidney Lumet

The Morning After is a 1986 American psychological thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, and Raul Julia. It follows a washed-up, alcoholic actress who awakens on Thanksgiving morning beside the dead body of a photographer in his loft, with no memory of the events the night before. She attempts to uncover the truth of what occurred with the help of a former police officer she encounters while on the run.

<i>The Brown Bunny</i> 2003 film directed by Vincent Gallo

The Brown Bunny is a 2003 film written, directed, produced, photographed and edited by Vincent Gallo. Starring Gallo and Chloë Sevigny, it tells the story of a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunted by memories of his former lover. It was photographed with handheld 16 mm cameras in various locations throughout the United States, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ohio, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, and California.

<i>Another Stakeout</i> 1993 buddy cop action comedy film written by Jim Kouf and directed by John Badham

Another Stakeout is a 1993 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, and Rosie O'Donnell. It is a sequel to the 1987 film, Stakeout. Unlike its predecessor, the film was neither a critical nor a commercial success.

<i>Thursday</i> (film) 1998 American film

Thursday is a 1998 American black comedy crime-thriller film written and directed by Skip Woods and starring Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhart, Paulina Porizkova, Paula Marshall, Michael Jeter and Mickey Rourke. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Cognac Festival.

<i>The Pledge</i> (film) 2001 film by Sean Penn

The Pledge is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological mystery drama film directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson alongside an ensemble supporting cast of Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shepard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Noonan, Lois Smith and Benicio del Toro. It was in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>The Big Heat</i> 1953 American film noir crime film by Fritz Lang

The Big Heat is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by Fritz Lang starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Jocelyn Brando about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city.

<i>Red Eye</i> (2005 American film) 2005 film by directed Wes Craven

Red Eye is a 2005 American thriller film directed by Wes Craven and written by Carl Ellsworth based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami.

<i>The Panic in Needle Park</i> 1971 film

The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills.

<i>Blue Steel</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Kathryn Bigelow

Blue Steel is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver and Clancy Brown. The film is about a police officer who shoots and kills a robbery suspect on her first day of duty and then becomes involved with a witness of the shooting.

<i>The Star Chamber</i> 1983 film by Peter Hyams

The Star Chamber is a 1983 American crime thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless, James B. Sikking, and Joe Regalbuto. The film was written by Roderick Taylor and Peter Hyams and directed by Hyams. Its title is taken from the name of the Star Chamber, a 15th−17th-century English court.

<i>The Whole Nine Yards</i> (film) 2000 American film

The Whole Nine Yards is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and distributed by Morgan Creek Productions via Warner Bros. It was written by Mitchell Kapner and stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Natasha Henstridge. Its story follows a mild-mannered dentist as he travels to Chicago to inform a mob boss about the whereabouts of his new neighbor, a former hitman with a price on his head.

<i>Dead Man Walking</i> (film) 1995 British film

Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the 1993 non-fiction book of the same name.

Simon Fisher Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.

<i>London Boulevard</i> 2010 UK crime film by William Monahan

London Boulevard is a 2010 British crime thriller film written and directed by William Monahan, based on Ken Bruen's 2001 novel of the same name. The film stars Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, and Ray Winstone. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010, by Entertainment Film Distributors.

<i>The Life of Vergie Winters</i> 1934 film by Alfred Santell

The Life of Vergie Winters is a 1934 American Pre-Code film, starring Ann Harding and John Boles.

<i>Interview with a Hitman</i> 2012 British film

Interview with a Hitman is a 2012 British action film written and directed by Perry Bhandal. The film tells the story of Viktor, a professional Romanian hitman who agrees to tell his story to a disgraced film director desperate to discover a unique story that will help him rebuild his career. It was produced by Kirlian Pictures & Scanner Rhodes with the assistance of Northern Film & Media. The film stars Luke Goss, Caroline Tillette, Stephen Marcus, Danny Midwinter and Elliot Greene.

"Blind Spot" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It was written by executive story editor Wendy Calhoun and directed by Michael Watkins. It originally aired on FX on April 27, 2010.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". Cineuropa . Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2004)". Lumiere . Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2004)". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2004) - Box Office Mojo
  5. ↑ "25th Moscow International Film Festival (2003)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". RottenTomatoes.com. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (9 July 2004). "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". RogerEbert.com . Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Sarris, Andrew (28 June 2004). "Among Moorean Cheap Shots, Many Legitimate Revelations in 9/11". The New York Observer . Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (9 July 2004). "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Burr, Ty (9 July 2004). "Reckless 'Sleep' proves tiresome". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.