Director: Mike Hodges
Venue: DVD
Trailer
The only complaint that I have with Netflix is that, often times, a disc will wait in my cue for several weeks before its turn to be shipped off in the mail. By the time that I get it, I can’t remember why I wanted that particular movie. Sometimes I just cruise around their site and click on whatever catches my fancy at the time. Other times, I get an interest in a certain actor and will rent anything with their name on it (anything that doesn’t look like a chick-flick). When I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead appeared in my mailbox, I remembered who’s filmography it came from, but my concept of the film was a good deal different from the reality of it.
Will Graham (Clive Owen) has spent the last 3 years living a quiet life in the forest; quite a change from the life he led as a gangster in the city. He’s left that life behind – or so he thinks. When his employment as a lumberjack is cut short, he decides to return to the city and check in with his brother Davey (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Little does he know, just the day before his arrival, his brother had met an untimely end. So, he sets out – with little help from his severely dysfunctional family – to discover the reason behind his brother’s death and punish whoever may be responsible. The focus of this film is not actually Davey, as one might initially perceive. Rather, I saw the point being more about Will and the change – or inability to change – in his life, or in anyone’s life. I respect the choice of the director to create Will’s past out of character interaction, rather than flashbacks. Flashbacks have always seemed like the easy way out to me. Refraining from depicting Will’s former life visually serves to anchor the plot on the here and now and helps to maintain the focus of the story.
Plot: 3 stars
As I mentioned earlier, sometimes I get a fancy for a certain actor and decide to shop their filmography. The actor, in this case, is Clive Owen. I had seen him in Gosford Park and Closer. My interest was peaked by his performance in Sin City. I still haven’t decided if I like him or not though. After all, he doesn’t play the friendliest of characters. But, it’s that voice and that calm, cool delivery I can’t escape. Jonathan Rhys Meyers offers up a solid performance as the younger brother, even if it is a short part (and is, incidentally, quite the hottie). The mother (actually, I couldn’t quite tell if she was mom or not) of the two brothers (Helen) is played by Charlotte Rampling. Her character is completely devoid of maternal warmth and bitterly icy. I haven’t figured out what her motivations as the movie closes are, but she was perhaps the most complex person in the film. Although I disliked Mickser, the father figure of the boys, it is due entirely to the script and not at all to Jamie Foreman’s performance. In fact, it might be considered a testimony to it. The more I consider it, the acting was wonderful, but the roles themselves didn’t grab my interest as much as they should have.
Acting: 3 stars
If I was to be shelving movies at a rental store, I would file I’ll Sleep…under “drama” rather than “action”. For a movie about a former gangster, there is very little action involved. In fact, the film moves at a very slow pace. People walk slowly, move slowly, talk slowly and the story takes its own sweet time. A relaxed pace is not always a negative quality in a movie. Many Akira Kurosawa films are epically long, and still earn the description “masterpiece”. However, if you’re trying to watch this with an Attention Deficit Disorder afflicted teenager and a fidgety father, it can be painful.
Action: 1 star
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead is beautifully filmed. Each frame is delectable and easily imagined as a postcard. Be sure to pick up the widescreen version (which is always preferable) so that you can fully enjoy each shot. It is imagery that illustrates the bridge between Will’s mountain man life and his return to gangsta, which is pivotal to the story. Costume and set design, while not surreal, are appropriate to the time and characters.
Visual: 3 ½ stars
As mentioned earlier, it is the dialogue in the movie that serves to describe Will’s former character. And, as the transition is so very important to the plot, the dialogue plays a vital role. I have to wonder what the person who titled this film was smoking. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” isn’t even a spoken line in the movie, let alone descriptive of its content. One line that is spoken, however, is “You think you've changed, do you? You haven't changed. Not really. People like us don't change. Not deep down.” And that, I think, is the summing up of the film. Part of the reason that I’ll Sleep..moves so leisurely is its lack of dialogue, and what little there is can be quite confusing.
Dialogue: 2 stars
I’ll Sleep ..is not a movie that will make it onto my “to buy” list or even my “will watch again” list. The director seems to be attempting some sort of existential artsy beyondness, but it doesn’t work the right way. There are a few elements missing that would have pulled the film together more and still left some of the more interesting questions intact. The cinematography is fantastic, but the other factors don’t quite measure up.
Alternate viewing choice: Violent Cop
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