Movies: I’ll Sleep When I Am Dead

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Movies: I’ll Sleep When I Am Dead

2 August 2008 58 views No Comment

I'll sleep when I am dead

For three long years, Will Graham led a quiet life. Things are about to change when his brother commits suicide. Will returns to find out what happened and wakes sleeping dogs.

My comment:
This movie isn't easy to judge, it's not even easy to summarize.
It's quiet, it lacks action sequences or big shoot-outs ... it just follows Will Graham, portrayed by Clive Owen, who has for some reason turned his back on his friends and family and retreated to live in a van in the woods. Only by references we learn that he must be quite a dangerous man. When Will's younger brother, Davy, commits suicide after being raped, Will returns to learn what happened and to take revenge.
What is most impressive about the movie is how minimalistic it is. There's no soundtrack to push scenes; they are just carried by the actors and all of them do a very good job. This quietness is especially impressive when we see how Will and his friends try to comprehend that Davy has been raped. The shock and incomprehension are very intense and present a believable scenario - after all, most often movies deal with women being raped. To see how a family reacts when it happens to a male is a change in perspective and for this the movie is already recommended.
If you like quiet and slow movies this one is for you. If you can't live without action and deep emotion, skip this one. While it touches on the subject on male rape victims, the characters themselves stay quite shallow and you get neither a back story nor much of a future prospect.