Dead Shot (film)
Dead Shot | |
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Directed by |
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Screenplay by |
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Based on | The Road to Balcombe Street by Steven P. Moysey |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Mattias Rudh |
Edited by | Ted Guard |
Music by | Max de Wardener |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sky Cinema |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Dead Shot is a 2023 British
The film premiered on Sky Cinema in the United Kingdom, Ireland and other territories on 12 May 2023.
Synopsis
A retired Irish paramilitary (Morgan) witnesses the shooting of his pregnant wife by a British soldier (Ameen) and escapes, wounded and presumed dead, to 1970s London to plot his revenge.[1]
Cast
- Aml Ameen as Tempest
- Colin Morgan as Michael O'Hara
- Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Keenan
- Sophia Brown as Ruth
- Máiréad Tyers as Carol
- Dara Devaney as Twomey
- Will Keen as Woodville
- Jack McMullen as Cole
- Caolan Byrne as Hogan
- Stephen McMillan as Lynch
- Steve Wall as Quinn
- Andrea Irvine as Fiadh
- Mark Strong as Holland
- Felicity Jones as Catherine
Production
In February 2018, it was reported that Jamie Dornan and Sam Claflin would star in the film, then titled Borderland, from a screenplay by Ronan Bennett, who wrote the first draft in 2012.[2][3] In July 2020, Tom and Charles Guard, collectively known as the Guard Brothers, signed on to direct the film; they also co-wrote the screenplay with Bennett, which was inspired by the book The Road to Balcombe Street by Steven P. Moysey.[4] That same month, John Boyega, Jack Reynor, Jodie Turner-Smith and Felicity Jones joined the cast, with Dornan and Claflin no longer attached.[4] In April 2022, Aml Ameen, Colin Morgan, Sophia Brown and Mark Strong were added to the cast, while Boyega and Reynor exited the film.[3]
The film is produced by Upper Street, Stylopik, Piecrust Pictures, Highland Midgie,
Filming was originally set to begin in March 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Filming began in April 2022 in Edinburgh[8] and Glasgow.[3][9] Props and other items from the set were donated to local charities in Scotland after location filming ended.[10]
Release
The film premiered on Sky Cinema in the United Kingdom, Ireland and other territories on 12 May 2023.[6] It was released in the United States in theatres, through video on demand and digitally on 18 August 2023 by Quiver Distribution.[11]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Dead Shot holds an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10.[12]
Paul Whitington of the Irish Independent said the film does not deal in the "philosophical, nor does it offer the viewer much in the way of geopolitical context: it's a thriller, pure and simple, and a pretty efficient one at that."[13] Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave the film four stars, praising the period detail and the script, and commented that although "trajectory feels a bit preordained by dramatic convention, there are still stinging twists in store".[14] Kevin Maher of The Times also awarded the film four stars and praised Ronan Bennett's script and called it a "gritty, breakneck B-movie that has moments of epic grandeur".[15]
References
- Screen Scotland. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- Screen Daily. Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Grater, Tom (12 April 2022). "Aml Ameen, Colin Morgan & Sophia Brown Join Felicity Jones & Mark Strong In Thriller 'Borderland' As Filming Gets Underway". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (6 July 2020). "John Boyega, Jack Reynor, Jodie Turner-Smith & Felicity Jones To Star In Thriller 'Borderland' From 'The Uninvited' Directors & 'Public Enemies' Scribe". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "Sky announces start of production in Glasgow for Borderland, a Sky Original, on Sky Cinema in 2022". Sky Group. 12 April 2022.
- ^ a b Sandwell, Ian (20 April 2023). "First trailer for Top Boy creator's new movie with Merlin and I May Destroy You stars". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Lyons, Bev (7 April 2021). "A-Listers coming to Glasgow as filming of new blockbuster Borderland to begin". Daily Record.
- Edinburgh Live.
- Belfast Live.
- ^ Campbell, Sarah (13 June 2022). "Shelter charity shop in Glasgow sells set items from Sky film Borderland". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Echebiri, Makuochi (29 June 2023). "First 'Dead Shot' Trailer: An IRA Agent Is on a Mission for Revenge". Collider. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Dead Shot". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ Whitington, Paul (12 May 2023). "Dead Shot review: Colin Morgan is an IRA man out for revenge in this straightforward thriller set during the Troubles". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Felperin, Leslie (12 May 2023). "Dead Shot review – IRA man and British soldier lock horns in Troubles revenge drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Maher, Kevin (12 May 2023). "Dead Shot review — the return of the IRA antihero". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
External links
- Dead Shot at IMDb