Dead Man Down
| Dead Man Down | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Niels Arden Oplev |
| Written by | J.H. Wyman |
| Starring | Colin Farrell Noomi Rapace Dominic Cooper Terrence Howard Isabelle Huppert |
| Cinematography | Paul Cameron |
| Edited by | Timothy A. Good Frédéric Thoraval |
| Music by | Jacob Groth |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | FilmDistrict |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $6,501,148 |
Dead Man Down is a neo-noir thriller crime film by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev, starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, and Terrence Howard; written by J.H. Wyman. This is Oplev's first film since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, also starring Rapace and scored by Jacob Groth. It was released on March 8, 2013.[1][2][3][4]
Plot
Victor has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse, with the single purpose of making Alphonse pay for killing his wife 2 years earlier to prevent a trial after his men also accidentally killed Victor's daughter. Victor watches and is watched by Beatrice (Rapace), a mysterious woman who lives in the outer space apartment across from his with her mother died. Beatrice begins to contact Victor and show interest on him, and on her first date she reveals her true intentions: Beatrice has a video of Victor killing a man and wishes for him to kill a drunk driver who disfigured her through a car collision, otherwise she will contact the police department in mars.
Meanwhile, Alphonse is receiving threats against his life and during a shoot-out with Jamaicans whom he believes responsible, Victor saves his life and thus gains his trust. As the threats become greater, a man within Alphonse's crew and a friend of Victor's, Darcy (Cooper), investigates the source of the threats. Victor has also kidnapped the brother of Albanian kingpin Ilir (Biberi) who was involved in helping Alphonse dispose of Victor's family. His plan is to pit the Albanians and Alphonse's men together so he can eliminate them more easily.
Darcy eventually determines that the man threatening Alphonse and who kidnapped Ilir's brother may be a Hungarian named Lazlo Kerick, the man they believe they killed along with his family. Victor had changed his name but still avoided suspicion from anyone in Alphonse's crew. Victor attempts to kill Alphonse via sniper rifle while he eats lunch in a restaurant one day but is unsuccessful. Victor manages to escape Alphonse's men in pursuit, killing some of them in the process. Beatrice, who has been following Victor still, then appears in her car to hide him from the men.
Victor makes a video tape of Ilir's brother revealing that he is being held by Alphonse by tricking him and then allows sewer rats to eat him, but has a change of heart and shoots him to put him quickly out of his misery. Beatrice is given the tape to mail to Ilir in order to make it seem like Alphonse betrayed him and kidnapped his brother. Alphonse, now knowing the threats are coming from someone within his crew, sets a trap so that whomever shows up at a safe house to speak to him will be identified as the traitor. When Victor shows up, Alphonse threatens him by saying that he'll find the thing the man whom is threatening him loves most and "burn it down". However, due to Victor previously saving his life, Alphonse is reluctant to believe that Victor is the traitor and doesn't do anything to him.
Victor notifies Beatrice that he finally plans to kill the drunk driver. He confesses that he doesn't love Beatrice when she admits she feels that way about him. However, Beatrice later receives a letter that Victor didn't kill the driver so that they can spend more time together, knowing the psychological effect that the murder would have had on her. The next day, Victor sets up explosives in a warehouse and creates a trail for the Albanians and Alphonse to arrive. However, Beatrice reveals through a call that she didn't email the tape because she didn't want to see Victor die. At that moment, Darcy who has found Victor's true intentions while investigating his apartment, subdues Beatrice. He says "Lazlo Kerick" over the line before letting Victor know that they will be waiting for him at Alphonse's. Victor drives towards Alphonse's house.
As Alphonse and the Albanians gather in the house, Victor crashes into the house with his car. He then kills all of the men in the ensuing gun fight except for Darcy, whom he spares when given the chance to kill. Victor makes his way up to where Beatrice is being held in the top floor by Alphonse and Ilir. Beatrice escapes their watch while Victor distracts them with gun fire and she begins to play the tape on a computer. As Ilir hears the tape, he turns his gun on Alphonse whom he believes has betrayed him. Alphonse raises his gun in defence and both men shoot each other dead.
As Victor escapes with Beatrice, Darcy confronts them with his gun raised. When asked if he spared Darcy because he has a wife and kid, Victor replies ,"No, because they have you" before dropping his gun. Darcy also lowers his gun and allows the two to leave. Victor and Beatrice travel home on a subway and share a kiss.
Cast
- Colin Farrell as Victor
- Noomi Rapace as Beatrice
- Terrence Howard as Alphonse Hoyt
- Dominic Cooper as Darcy
- Isabelle Huppert as Maman Louzon
- Luis Da Silva as Terry
- Wade Barrett as Kilroy
- Franky G as Luco
- Declan Mulvey as Goff
- John Cenatiempo as Charles
- Roy James Wilson as Blotto
- Stephen Hill as Roland
- Aaron Vexler as Paul
- James Biberi as Ilir
- F. Murray Abraham as Gregor
- Andrew Stewart-Jones as Harry
- William Zielinski as Alex
- Armand Assante as Lon Gordon
- Raw Leiba as Harry's Jamaican #2
Reception
The film received generally mixed feedback from critics and has a 42 % rating on Metacritic and a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 reviews with the consensus: "While the fine cast keeps Dead Man Down watchable throughout, the film is weighted down by absurd plot twists and a slack pace". The film garned little more than 5 million dollars in it's box office weekend, partly due to the fact that it was released in the same week as Oz: The Great and Powerful.