Dead Man Down

Director Niels Arden Opley brings secrets to the forefront in a new gangster film exploring symbolic retribution and vengeance.

Dead Man Down doesn’t shy away from its status as the second collaboration between The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev and star Noomi Rapace, matching the reunion of personnel with the repetition of narrative and aesthetic elements. With an enterprising anti-hero and an emotionally and physically scarred accomplice navigating the complex criminal underworld in a twisted tale of revenge, the story can’t help but feel familiar; the gritty sheen of grey imagery and ominous acoustic accompaniment further the replication.

Alas, that’s where the parallels end, though not from lack of effort in endeavouring to evoke a favourable comparison. Whilst Oplev tries to duplicate his fortunes with similar material and the same style, the unconvincing nature of the former can’t be saved by the comfort of the latter. Producer and scribe J.H. Wyman’s first feature script since 2001’s The Mexican is simply too convoluted, convenient and clichéd, with the end result both testing and tired.

The plodding plot sees low-level henchman Victor (Colin Farrell, Seven Psychopaths) in the service of New York City gangster Alphonse Hoyt (Terrence Howard, The Company You Keep) as a series of cryptic messages threaten their lives and livelihoods. Victor and his colleague Darcy (Dominic Cooper, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) attempt to ascertain the source of the unease, yet Victor’s focus is elsewhere – his loner lifestyle hints at secrets beyond his station, whilst his troubled neighbour Beatrice (Rapace, Prometheus) provides a considerable distraction.

Amidst heavy-handed symbolism and overt foreshadowing, Dead Man Down takes time in cultivating its obvious conclusion, casting its protagonists on a typical journey of redemption through vengeance. Diversions abound, but without depth, tempering the purported thriller atmosphere with pointless details. Indeed, many of the evident machinations remain pure filler – and much of the vast supporting cast (Amour’s Isabelle Huppert, Homeland’s F. Murray Abraham and Chuck’s Armand Assante among them), too. Without energy or urgency, the film merely goes through the motions, unconvincing action scenes and clumsy romantic interludes included.

Thankfully, leads Rapace and Farrell exceed the surrounding ennui, albeit with few facial expressions between them. Stoically but unsubtly, the duo does their best to embody the feature’s neo-noir stylings, succeeding in setting a brooding tone with artful minimalism. Yet even their effectiveness in playing against type can’t infuse the film with the necessary interest or intrigue. Accordingly, Oplev’s first American effort will forever remain a facsimile of his better work, recreating the moodiness but not the enigma.

Rating: 2

Dead Man Down

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

US, 2013, 118 mins

Release date: May 23

Distributor:  Sony

Rated: MA