Rent Dead Shot (2023)

Gripping Thriller - Dead Shot review by GI

A revenge thriller set during the 'Troubles' and a gritty recreation of a grimy 70s London where most of the film is set. It begins, however, in Northern Ireland where IRA terrorist Michael (Colin Morgan) is ambushed by the British army while taking his heavily pregnant wife to hospital. She is killed in a moment of poor judgement by soldier Henry and Michael escapes. Facing a possible murder charge Henry agrees to join a shady unit run by Holland (Mark Strong) whose team are engaged in hunting IRA operatives in London. Both sides are fighting a dirty war where the issues of right/wrong and lawful/unlawful are totally blurred. Michael makes his way to London to join a bomb team but he has plans for revenge. This is a solidly made, well directed thriller that some may find a hard watch especially as there's no good guy to root for as everyone is equally as bad. In many ways this gives the film more strength as it tries to evoke the essence of the ruthlessness employed by both sides. Felicity Jones co-stars. It's a gripping film and well worth checking out.

The Troubles come to 1970s London in a riveting film destined to become a classic - Dead Shot review by Philip in Paradiso

Michael O'Hara (Colin Morgan) is a gunman who has been part of the IRA since his teens, but he wants to leave the terrorist organisation. The film starts as he witnesses the shooting of his pregnant wife by a British soldier of West Indian origin (Aml Ameen), serving in the Parachute Regiment. O'Hara manages to escape but he has been wounded in the shoot-out with the British troops and is soon presumed dead. More than anything else, O'Hara now wants to take revenge on the soldier who killed his wife. He travels to mainland Britain from Northern Ireland with a view to killing the British soldier, Tempest (we are not given any other name for him). The film develops from that point onwards, taking place in 1970s London.

This is a tense, taut and dark film. The atmosphere in 1970s London, which is run-down and shabby, is expertly re-created. The acting of all the characters is excellent and the realistic dialogues hit home. This is a movie full of violence - the violence of circumstances, the violence of politics, the violence of the State, the violence of terrorism, the violence of men, the violence of ideas and emotions: there is no end to the forms of violence that the film depicts and, from time to time, the violence, which is present and latent all the time, literally explodes into scenes of extreme, graphic violence. But this is far more than an action movie. It is an intelligent film, carefully constructed, with characters who feel intensely human and believable. The story feels very real from start to finish, even if it may be inexorable in more ways than one, like some pre-ordained Greek tragedy. The film is also unsettling, because all the characters, but for a few exceptions, are ambiguous and dangerous: there are no 'good guys' and 'bad actors' - it is a dirty war, fought in a dirty way by both the IRA and the security forces. On the latter's side, Mark Strong (as Holland) is impressive and scary, as usual when he plays such parts.

Overall, it is a truly excellent film. I am surprised it has not been written about and praised more. I believe it will become a classic, and will be talked about as such in 20 or 30 years' time.