Shadow Dancer Movie Review

Shadow Dancer Movie Still

Cast & Crew

Director : James Marsh

Producer : Chris Coen, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe,

Screenwriter : Tom Bradby

Starring : Andrea Riseborough, Clive Owen, Gillian Anderson, Aidan Gillen, Domhnall Gleeson, Brid Brennan, David Wilmot, Stuart Graham,

Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this thriller refuses to burst out into action mode, preferring to keep its thrills cerebral as the characters circle around each other like sharks. It's a fiercely complex, intelligent film that's expertly handled by Marsh (Man on Wire) in his narrative directing debut. And while mainstream audiences may long for just one explosive car chase, there are plenty of resonant themes to hold our attention in other ways.

Riseborough gives her best-yet performance as Colette, a young IRA operative who visits London in 1993 and is arrested by MI5 agent Mac (Owen). He offers her a terrible deal she can't refuse: if she wants to avoid prison to raise her son, she'll have to return to Belfast and spy on her mother (Brennan) and activist brothers (Gillen and Gleeson). But when she gets home, she discovers that the IRA boss (Wilmot) knows there's a spy in their midst. Is he talking about her? Or is there another one? And Mac is also a bit nervous when his boss (Anderson) starts acting suspicious.

Marsh's directing style quietly reveals all of the story's secrets as the film steadily goes along. The camerawork and editing are sleek and sophisticated, echoing the slippery danger that surrounds the characters. And the dialog is minimalistic, only hinting at the secrets and revelations and requiring rather a lot of work from the audience. But this is a refreshing change from other thrillers that spell everything out so plainly that we have nothing left to think about.

Riseborough holds our attention all the way through the film as a young woman caught in an impossible situation that keeps twisting and turning around her.

Gillen, Gleeson and Brennan are also terrific in smaller roles that leave us wanting to know a lot more about them. By comparison, Owen is oddly uninteresting, since we see nothing of his character beyond his work. But this adds to the film's enigmatic tone, which rewards patient viewers with a gripping story that forces us to think about what we'd do in a similar situation.

Rich Cline

More From Contactmusic.com

More From The Web

Write for us

Comments

Shadow Dancer Rating

" Excellent "

Rating: 15, 2012

Editors Recommendations

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City Album Review

Vampire Weekend's third album Modern Vampires Of The City may just be the most ambitiously and confidently...

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City Album Review

Jennifer Lawrence Says 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Is 'Visually Stunning' In Interview At Cannes

Oscar winning Jennifer Lawrence talks about her first experiences at Cannes Film Festival and what...

Video - Jennifer Lawrence Says 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Is 'Visually Stunning' In Interview At Cannes

Dave Grohl Plays With Rolling Stones

Dave Grohl became the latest star to share the stage with The Rolling Stones when he joined the rockers at their...

Dave Grohl - Dave Grohl Plays With Rolling Stones

Coen Brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis - The ‘Best So Far At Cannes’?

Joel and Ethan Coen, who go by the collective pseudonym of The Coen Brothers, seem to have struck gold...

Coen Brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis - The ‘Best So Far At Cannes’?

Taylor Swift wins eight Billboard awards

Taylor Swift led the winners at the Billboard Music Awards last night (19.05.13), taking home eight prizes...

Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift wins eight Billboard awards

Angelina Jolie to play mother in biopic

Angelina Jolie is to play her late mother in a new film. The Oscar-winning actress - who revealed last week she...

Angelina Jolie - Angelina Jolie to play mother in biopic

Man Arrested After Toots and the Maytals Singer Is Bottled On-Stage [Video]

Toots and the Maytals were forced to cut short their set at the Dominion Riverrock outdoor music festival...

Man Arrested After Toots and the Maytals Singer Is Bottled On-Stage [Video]

The Great Gatsby Movie Review

Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) is the perfect director to take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel...

The Great Gatsby Movie Review


More recommendations

Andrea Riseborough Newsletter

Subscribe to this news alert service to receive news and reviews on Andrea Riseborough

Unsubscribe | Unsubscribe All

Films by Artist: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ