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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 58953
Released: November 16, 2004 |
| Our Price: $5.98 |
| Used Price: $1.68 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD, Willie (Owen), a former mobster, comes back to town after he learns his younger brother Davey (Rhys Myers) has committed suicide. Upon learning that Davey was brutally raped by mobsters, Willie is determined to seek justice by finding the men who victimized him. While on the search for the mobsters, Willie comes face-to-face with Frank Scott, the local "bad boy" and conflict arises when Frank starts to believe that Willie is back in town to reclaim his status as the town's bad boy.
Description of I'll Sleep When I'm Dead:
Mike Hodges and Clive Owen, director and star of the stylish 1998 crime drama Croupier, team again in this moody, almost contemplative thriller about a former gangster, Will Graham (Owen), who returns to London after a lengthy self-exile. In a tragic coincidence, Will's brother, Davey (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), has just committed suicide following a rape by a wealthy car dealer (Malcolm McDowell). Convinced there is more to Davey's death than meets the eye, Will--arguing he is nothing like his old, violent, urban self--slowly evolves again into a formidable criminal. Hodges and screenwriter Trevor Preston emphasize tone and spiritual inference over precise character motivation. Not everything that can be known about Will (especially his rocky psychological state and history with a former lover, played by Charlotte Rampling) is expressly stated. But one can feel his stifled nature rising, paradoxically, toward revenge, and his final actions have an existential power and mystery. --Tom Keogh
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Reviews:
Excellent Crime Drama - Not Typical Though 
2009-10-14 - I really enjoyed this movie. Clive, as usual, is excellent and the premise is different and compelling. I'm so used to your typical American crime drama I kept waiting for every other scene to have a gun fight. From the average of reviews here I think most people were as well. It was a totally different flavor, decidedly English, and thats what made it interesting for me. The only think that kind of spoiled it for me was the romantic mismatch of Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling. She's 18 years his senior in real life and while that can happen, its not likely.
Quiet but interesting
2009-07-31 - The Bottom Line:
Classifying this film as a thriller would probably create an anticipation of tension, of which there is very little, but if you take I'll Sleep When I'm Dead as a drama about a man investigating his brother's death (not unlike a modern day Get Carter) you might be pleased by the choices the film makes; it'll never be considered a gripping film but it's a decent one.
3/4
not worth your time unless you need to see every Clive Owen film 
2009-05-09 - A movie about grieving and revenge that starts out a bit odd, has a shocking moment, and then pewters out. It's worth a look for shaggybeard!Clive Owen and then cleaned-up!Clive Owen.
MIKE HODGES, OPUS 9 
2008-03-01 - **1/2 2003. Directed by British born director Mike Hodges. A former mob boss comes back to London when his brother commits suicide. Nothing new under the sun even if there are some great actors involved. Already forgotten.
I'll Sleep About an Hour Into It
2007-09-13 - I assume that the title of this movie is taken from the Warren Zevon tune--a song, I might point out, that is about five thousand times more exciting than this dull, pedantic, pathetic, shiftless, soulless, sleep inducing film (I had to watch it over two nights as it lulled me to sleep after thirty minutes on the first viewing). How in the world do you make a Clive Owen, Malcom McDowell, Charlotte Rampling flick SO flat and pointless that it induces drowsiness? The acting is so deadpan and emotionless that it HAS to be good, right? Wow, and count those crime noir cliches in the script--is that a deep, meaningful commentary on the whole genre I smell? And what about all of those plot points (about half of the screen time in the film) that not only DON'T add to the main story but actually distract and detract the viewer's attention to confuse him or her as to what is actually going on--surely this is the sign of a truly meaningful movie experience, right? And let's not forget the lack of resolution for every single one of these meaningless sub-plots, including the old flame with a gun to her head. Oh, wait, I guess that was done so intelligent movie watchers, like myself, can inject a little thought and speculation into this, obviously, interactive experience. Maybe it is all meant to help solidify my strong homophobic worries and fears (just watch the movie and think about that comment). Is this a student art-for-arts-sake film disguised as crime noir? Or is this really just a flat, dull, dumb crime noir film? You be the judge--if you can stay awake.
Hey, in quick response to one of the other "glowing" reviewers--if the movie they DON'T show you is more interesting than the movie they DO show you--that's a pretty good indication it's a bad movie.
