That punchy title and gun-heavy poster might push the uninitiated to write off Dead Shot as a direct-to-video shoot-em-up, although the presence of reliable stars like Mark Strong and Felicity Jones hints otherwise. Charles and Thomas Guard’s ‘70s-set Troubles-era film has its share of decently-executed action to match those impressions, yet reveals itself to be a surprisingly sturdy and cynical revenge thriller first and foremost.
With Edinburgh and Glasgow standing in for 1970s London and Belfast, Dead Shot quickly cements its tense brooding tone. A blood-splattered opening ends with the pregnant wife of ex-IRA Michael O’Hara (Colin Morgan) dead at the hands of British Army Sergeant Tempest (Aml Ameen), placing the men on a collision course sprinting headlong towards vengeance. The narrative that follows evenly interweaves both perspectives with economical purpose: O’Hara’s saga reminiscent of Melville’s Army of Shadows – all tested allegiances, orders grimly executed, and cat-&-mouse suspense – while Tempest’s mission most recalls Matthew Hope’s The Veteran and its saga of a guilt-ridden soldier recruited to hunt down homeland cells. One could even draw comparisons to Heat; sympathy here similarly resides on both sides of the law.
The former plotline unfolds as a cloak-&-dagger web of IRA chapters and higher-ups clashing with O’Hara’s desperate march toward revenge. With his every step towards Tempest bringing more heat on the London cells, it becomes a race against time between the widower’s actions and the Army’s explosive campaign in the city. Dead Shot ends up being more plot-heavy than characterization-driven, with most of the IRA characters underdeveloped besides O’Hara, Felicity Jones’ go-between Catherine, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s memorably ruthless boss Keenan. The solid performances imbue personality wherever the script falls short, resulting in a film that still feels fleshed out through actions and reactions despite often relying on overly cliched dialogue.
Despite a slight social commentary edge and Strong’s gravitas as a shadow government handler, Aml Ameen’s side of Dead Shot doesn’t fare much better plot-wise either. The occasional bursts of well-staged gunfire and chases still manage to be rewarding set-pieces; each confrontation hardening Morgan’s and Ameen’s protagonists until the larger conflicts fade away and the story’s intimate stakes are at the fore. A mid-film shootout riddling the London streets with bullets is especially visceral and encapsulates all of Dead Shot’s strengths: a suspenseful escalation from anxious planning to seething character moments and a propulsively-directed gunfight racing from industrial back-alleys to traffic-packed roads.
Dead Shot is an ideal example of the indie/DTV paradox. At a glance, it would be easy to overlook this as another generic action thriller saddled with a suitably generic title, painfully generic poster, and anchored by a few known faces amid a largely lesser-known cast. But from dark opening to icy ending, this proves to be a taut period thriller whose intense moments of action never overshadow the deliberate pace, handsome production, and effective dual-plot thread direction. It’s a low-key genre film surprise that does nothing new but does everything with sturdy efficiency.
Photo courtesy of Amor Media
The post Dead Shot appeared first on Spectrum Culture.