I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: Watching Clive Owen in Croupier and Arthur, I looked forward to viewing this movie even though I knew it was a bad sign that I had not heard of it. Ebert's and Roeper's "two thumbs way up" also sold me on renting it, but I wonder if we saw the same film. Boy, what an incomplete storyline!

At the conclusion, I immediately went to see if there was a director's commentary to discuss what happened. My main complaint is the lack of explanation why Boad (Malcolm McDowell) committed such a heinous act. The reveal never came, nor did the desired backstory delving into what drove Will into isolation.

On the plus side, I enjoyed the British dialogue and the setting. We are indeed two nations separated by a common language. This however is not enough to recommend this film.

Here's hoping that Clive Owen will finally get a role that lets him use more of his facial muscles and a script that doesn't need an accompanying Cliff Notes to understand the plot.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Terrible. One of the Worst.
Review: An enormously talented cast shows what can be done with a pile of junk script. While the premise of the movie is intriguing, the script is an undeveloped piece of garbage.

I was astonished at the praise heaped on this movie, including the Ebert & Roper "Two Thumbs Way Up" (way up what?). Every actor in the film is wasted, nothing is resolved, we are offered almost nothing of the characters backgrounds with that pretentious directorial "wink" that's supposed to make the "hip filmsters" know what's going on. Yawn.

Worst excuse for rape ever: When seeking vendetta for the rape (and eventual suicide of his brother Clive Owen's emotion-free Will asks "why" Malcolm MacDowell offers only a lame "He thought he was something special . . . the way he dressed, held a cigarette, the way women fawned over him, the way he walked . . . I wanted to show him he was nothing." Say what?

Truly a movie that should have never been made. A waste.

Rating:
Summary: Clueless
Review: Beautifully photographed, moodily and hiply scored, dripping with charisma and sex appeal from Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" nonetheless fails to inspire anything but bewilderment: with all this talent and these superior production values...what happened?
Clive Owen plays Will, an exiled criminal that returns home to solve the death, supposedly suicide, of his younger brother Davey: a spiffy, low level drug dealer and Babe magnet. Director Mike Hodges ("Croupier") wants to have it all and he throws everything but the kitchen sink at us: there is an extended discussion of suicide that is better left for an educational film, there are old grudges thrown at Will from all sides none of which are resolved nor explained and then there is the character of Boad (Malcolm MacDowell) whose motivations are at best silly and at worst, empty-headed and ill-conceived.
"ISWID" is beautiful to look at then, but on closer inspection it's empty and illogical and more importantly a huge waste of talent and money.

Rating:
Summary: Flat and lifeless
Review: Besides how good Clive Owens looks after he cleans up, there is nothing to redeem this film. To have talented actors like Charlotte Rampling and Malcolm McDowell, and of course Clive himself, in a film and reduce them to utterly flat dialogue, undeveloped characters, and a very murky plot line is criminal! This is one of the worst films I have ever seen and I strongly advise everyone to avoid it!

Rating:
Summary: Clive Owen with mustache and beard.
Review: Clive Owen (popular favorite to be the next "James Bond") plays "Will", a good samaritan who saw someone get beat up by three thugs. When the thugs left, Will takes the injured man back home to his wife to heal. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Davey (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is taking a taxi cab ride with an unlicenced driver (Tim Plester), but the cab is groovy inside. When the cab stalls, Davey must foot it the rest of the way. Boad (Malcolm McDowall) and his thugs come upon him and Boad sadomizes Davey. Davey withers home the next morning in pain. Fully clothed and bleeding, he sits in his bathtub. When a friend comes to visit Davey, he finds him dead in the bathtub with a slash on his neck. So he must find Will. Will was a gangleader in the past, but has retreated himself into a private world of his own. He hasn't been seen in three years. Will decides to get in contact with his brother, but when he discovers he had committed suicide, he comes out of exile to find out the truth about Davey and what happened to him.
Also in the cast: Charlotte Rampling, Jamie Foreman, Ken Stott and Sylvia Syms.
DVD contains no extras.
Clive Owen was nominated for an Outstnding Supporting Actor Academy Award the same year this movie was released for CLOSER (2004).

Rating:
Summary: What a waste of great talent!
Review: Great British actors such as Owen, Myers, Rampling and Mcdowell are waisted in this boring, lifeless film which could very well have been made as a TV movie. Could this really be directed by the same guy who made Croupier and Get Carter? A complete waste of talent, and one I think Clive Owen will want to forget, especially as he seems on the cusp of conquering hollywood.


Rating:
Summary: I can't remember being so disappointed in a movie
Review: I guess I was expecting a remake of "Get Carter" (the 1971 version) Done the way it should have been. I remembered watching Michael Caine rip though everything as a child and thinking he was awesome. So when the 2000 version with Sylvester Stallone came out I was willing to give it a try even *if* Rambo was playing the part. Alas my hopes were dashed and I rushed to see the original again only to realize that it wasn't so good either. Some things from the 70's just don't translate well, and I think that's what happened with "Get Carter". So in my mind I started seeing how a modern version of Carter should be done. When I first saw the trailer for "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" I felt as if my prayers had been answered. When I found out Clive Owen (King Arther), Charlotte Rampling (Spy Game) and Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange) were going to be in it, I began racking up the body count in my head.
So it was a pretty severe let down. First off I expected *much* better directing from Mike Hodges, the pacing of this movie felt like some first time Film Festival entry, instead of from one of the writers of the original "Get Carter". Thinking perhaps I was letting my memory of the original cloud my judgment too much I watched it again. Trying to judge it on its own merits. I tried but the plot is obviously a rip off of Get Carter so its pretty impossible not to compare. And as bad as both version are so far (and they are pretty bad) In the first version you get a *lot* of violence (by 70's standards) In the 2nd you at least get to look at Rachael Leigh Cook make pouty faces. "I'll sleep when I'm Dead" doesn't even have that little hope.
I wish I could say that the acting was stellar but again just didn't live up to its potential . Clive Owens keeps the same sad expression on his face throughout the entire movie without ever explaining *why* he was so sour. Charlotte Rampling looked as if someone used her hard then hung her up wet, which probable could have been explained by her charter only her acting didn't seem to match. Malcolm McDowell's role was so out of place that the best I can figure Hodges realized that he was going to get a few hours of McDowell's time and didn't have time to write a part for him so instead just stole a scene from Caligola. Don't waste your time or money.

Rating:
Summary: A shame, really
Review: I know it is not always fair to judge a director's latest work by stacking it against earlier efforts, but in the case of Mike Hodges, who has only made 2 previous films in 33 years (1971's "Get Carter" and the more recent "Croupier") expectations tend to run high. "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" reunites "Croupier" star Clive Owen with Hodges in another moody "Brit Noir". Curiously, Hodges appears bent on doing a semi-remake of "Get Carter". There is a glaringly similar set up borrowed from the former movie-a low-grade criminal's suspicious "accidental" death is tirelessly investigated and ultimately avenged by an estranged brother. Owens even plays his character with the same glum, poker-faced resolve that Michael Caine used in "Carter". Unfortunately, where the former film evolved into an engaging character study after the set-up, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" quickly loses steam and turns into a by-the-numbers revenge thriller (and I apply the word "thriller" loosely here). The film is so somnambulent that I found myself marvelling at how much Malcolm McDowell and Sting resemble each other these days, rather than caring about whether McDowell's character would get his due (if I had a yo-yo with me, I probably would have practiced "walking the dog" while awaiting the inevitable denouement). Perhaps I missed some subtle subtext or point (always a possibility during a first viewing) but it will be a long time before I can steel myself to sit through this one again. If you are a fan of Hodges' previous films, you will probably want to satisfy your curiosity; but consider yourself duly warned!

Rating:
Summary: a very flat film
Review: the flattest film i have ever seen. there is no storyline, no suspense. no climax, no character development. there are a multitude of characters, most that appear for a short time, say a few lines, and are never seen again, and yet appear in the credits. 3 minutes before the movie ends, it gets very interesting, which left me saying to the rolling credits, "NO, no no! that can't be the end!!! it just started!"

but judging by the fact that there are currently over 80 people selling this DVD on this site for less than a third of retail, i'm not the only one disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Had hopes with its great cast, but a disappointing movie
Review: We figured that with Clive Owen and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers headlining this film, it was a sure-fire good rental. Given the U.K. gangster subtext, even catching a bit of the oomph contained in the comet that was 'Sexy Beast'...well, who could pass that up?

Too bad, then, this film was such a letdown. It's certainly not due to either Owen or Rhys-Meyers, who have little to work with, frankly, in terms of a compelling narrative. And one can't blame Charlotte Rampling or Malcolm McDowell either - Rampling's role is smallish, hazily drawn. McDowell plays a pivotal part, but I never figured out what drove him to do the shocking act around which the film revolves. I figured it was due to some deep-seated resentment or long-sheathed act of revenge. In fact, it's explained as nothing of the sort. In fact, it seems petty more than anything else. And that makes the whole concept of the film downright perplexing.

I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how this one went awry. The US box office certainly wasn't interested in figuring it out either: it brought in only $360,759 during its run here according to Box Office Mojo.