I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)
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43% of critics liked it
(86 reviews) -
36% of users liked it
(7,924 ratings)
For I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, director Mike Hodges re-teams with Trevor Preston, the respected British television writer with whom he made a series of documentaries for ITV back in the 1960s. The film also brings the director together again with actor Clive Owen, the star of his previous… More For I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, director Mike Hodges re-teams with Trevor Preston, the respected British television writer with whom he made a series of documentaries for ITV back in the 1960s. The film also brings the director together again with actor Clive Owen, the star of his previous film, Croupier, which signaled Hodges' resurgence. Owen plays Will Graham, a former London gangster who moved out to the country after suffering a breakdown of some sort. Will works clearing forests, and lives out of his van, until he loses his job over a lack of proper documentation. Meanwhile, Will's younger brother, Davey, is enjoying his life as a womanizing man about town, and dabbling in drug dealing, until one night, when an older man, Boad (Malcolm McDowell), has him followed and brutally assaults him. The traumatized Davey returns home and takes his own life. Will, uncertain as to where to go, finds himself drawn back to London, where he learns of Davey's death from Mrs. Barz (Sylvia Syms), his landlady. Will investigates what happened that night with his old friend, Mickser (Jamie Foreman). As Will tries to piece together what happened, he goes to visit Helen (Charlotte Rampling), his former lover, who is less than thrilled to see him after he abandoned her years earlier and eventually cut off all contact. The current neighborhood crime boss, Turner (Ken Stott), knows what Will is capable of, and sees him as a threat. Eventually, Will uncovers the truth, and is faced with the unpleasant prospect of avenging Davey's death. Screenwriter Preston took the title for the film from a sardonic song by the late Warren Zevon. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mike Hodges
- Written By
- Trevor Preston
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Feb 18, 2004 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Classics
Critic Reviews
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Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Languorous, elliptical and dull.
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Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
Matching the movie's restrained style, Owen is extraordinarily still, and all the more riveting because of it.
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Rex Reed, New York Observer
A tight, well-made, evocative piece of filmmaking for true connoisseurs of gangster movies that is unnerving, yet completely sure of every step it takes.
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Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
This is Owen's picture. He broods, he seethes, he plots. Sometimes he even speaks, but it's not necessary. One glance from Will is enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
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Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News
Unfortunately, the characters and their motivations are so poorly defined that the story seems vague and incomplete.
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Cast
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Clive Owen
as Will Graham
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Charlotte Rampling
as Helen
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Jonathan Rhys Meyers
as Davey
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Malcolm McDowell
as Boad
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Jamie Foreman
as Mickser
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Ken Stott
as Frank Turner
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Sylvia Syms
as Mrs. Bartz
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Geoff Ball
as Arnie Ryan
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Desmond Baylis
as Cannibal (Jez)
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Kirris Riviere
as Big John
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Brian Croucher
as Al Shaw
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Ross Boatman
as Malone
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Marc O'Shea
as Paulin
- Alexander Morton
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Noel Clarke
as Cyril
