Shadow Dancer (film)
| Shadow Dancer | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | James Marsh |
| Written by | Tom Bradby |
| Produced by | Chris Coen Ed Guiney Andrew Lowe |
| Starring | Clive Owen Andrea Riseborough Gillian Anderson |
| Cinematography | Rob Hardy |
| Edited by | Jinx Godfrey |
| Music by | Dickon Hinchliffe |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.2 million[1] |
Shadow Dancer is a 2012 British-Irish drama film directed by James Marsh and based on the novel of the same name by Tom Bradby who also wrote the film's script. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival[2] and was screened out of competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.[3]
Plot
In 1993 Belfast, Colette lives with her mother and brothers, all members of the IRA. In the opening scene, set twenty years earlier, the Troubles results in the death of her younger brother when they are children. This presumably motivates her in later life. After a failed attack in London, Colette is arrested and offered a choice: either she spends 25 years in jail, thus losing everything she loves including her young son, or she becomes an informant for MI5, spying on her own family. Colette agrees to do so. An MI5 officer, Mac, is assigned as her handler. In return Mac offers a new identity to her after a period working for the MI-5. Soon Mac learns that his superior Kate Fletcher is using Colette to protect her mole inside the Irish organization. Mac tries to find the identity of the informer and protect Colette.
Cast
- Andrea Riseborough as Colette McVeigh
- Clive Owen as Mac
- Gillian Anderson as Kate Fletcher
- Aidan Gillen as Gerry McVeigh
- Domhnall Gleeson as Connor McVeigh
- Brid Brennan as Ma
- David Wilmot as Kevin Mulville
- Michael McElhatton as Liam Hughes
- Stuart Graham as Ian Gilmour
- Martin McCann as Brendan O'Shea
Reception
The film currently holds a "Fresh" rating of 82%, based on 69 reviews, at Rotten Tomatoes.[4] British film magazine Empire giving it a score of 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "an intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama".[5] The Guardian called it "a slow-burning but brilliant thriller about an IRA sympathiser forced to become an informant by MI5".[6]
References
- ^ "Shadow Dancer: Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ Wise, Damon (25 January 2012). "Sundance 2012: Shadow Dancer – review". berlinale.de. London. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "18 World Premieres in the Competition". berlinale.de. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ "Shadow Dancer Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "Empire's Shadow Dancer Movie Review". Empire. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ Wise, Damon (25 January 2012). "Sundance 2012: Shadow Dancer – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
External links
- 2012 films
- 2010s thriller films
- 2010s drama films
- British spy films
- British thriller films
- British films
- British drama films
- Irish films
- Irish drama films
- Irish thriller films
- Films about the Irish Republican Army
- Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
- Films set in 1973
- Films set in 1993
- Films set in Belfast
- Films set in London
- Films shot in Ireland
- Films shot in England
- Films based on British novels
- Films based on thriller novels
- Films directed by James Marsh
- BBC Films films
- English-language films