Rent I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)

Good old Mike Hodges - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead review by CP Customer

He is the perfect director for wet streets at night thrillers, and his bleak endings are a great reflection of life, (Get Carter) Clive Owen plays the man come to avenge his brother's gangland death, is almost great, and Rampling her understated best as his older girlfriend, loveloy low budget British stuff (who cares where the money comes fro to make the movie). Love it.

Cheer up, Clive! - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead review by Kurtz

Deeply morose British thriller with director Hodges hoping to revisit his earlier “Get Carter” territory and falling well short. There is early promise as we follow Clive Owen’s gadabout kid brother Jonathan Rhys Myers on his rounds of the beautiful people before a nasty fall from grace, but once Owen’s character shows up with revenge on his mind he spends most of his time wandering around glaring at people and Charlotte Rampling gets to do very little in each of her scenes, so once these two take centre stage it’s snoozeville.

A dark, bleak tale of revenge for a dead brother - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead review by RP

Slow-moving, atmospheric British gangster film. Some may find it too slow - but I enjoyed it.

I watched it because it was directed by Mike Hodges, the director of the original 'Get Carter'. And this film is similar to 'Get Carter' in many ways - a dark, bleak tale of revenge for a dead brother.

Clive Owen plays the central role of hard man Will Graham. He has retired in disgust from his former life in the London underworld and is living the life of a recluse, working in forestry, and living in the back of a van. He returns to his former South London stamping ground to find that his younger brother Davey has committed suicide after a nasty incident of anal rape, and sets out to avenge his death. The Clive Owen character is very introspective, and he knows that his brother would not have led the wastrel life that led to his death if his older brother had been around.

The film is dark, and the tension builds slowly and there are many unanswered questions and loose ends in the story line. Some will say that the plot is insubstantial and slow moving. This is certainly no jokey, blokey, Cockney gangster film as directed by Guy Ritchie. But I liked it: I don't like things too pat and polished. Recommended.