October 23, 2013
Dead Man Down
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director's first English-language film
By Metropolis
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2013
Danish director Niels Arden Oplev’s (Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) first English-language feature is a heavily revenge-themed and glacially paced euro-flick with flashes of pointless violence and an explosive ending seemingly grafted on from another movie. A woman (Noomi Rapace) scarred in an auto accident blackmails her fellow damaged-soul neighbor (Colin Farrell), a henchman for a local crime boss (Terrence Howard), into murdering the drunk who caused it. But he has his own dark secrets. Nicely filmed, though, and some fine performances despite the awkward dialogue and fragmentation. (112 min)