Too much of everything

To me, this movie is perfection.

Strong and Moving!

Simply Perfect

(spoilers)I enjoyed watching director John Marsh's "Shadow Dancer", an espionage suspense movie set in UK with a story of a Irish woman emotionally scarred by her young brother's tragic death in the 70s during English/Irish conflicts in Belfast. Most of the movie is set in early 90s Ireland when the IRA fought against English rule. Headlines and fighting in this civil/domestic war have been burnt out for good measure since then, but this story features competent acting and satisfactory suspense. The couple of twists were mixed, one well done, and one predictable. Andrea Risborough is a gorgeous and expressive actress, with wide expressive blue eyes. Her Irish accent is spot on (dont know if she herself is actually Irish). She led the movie with quiet expressive resilience. 7/10

With films like In The Name of the Father, Michael Collins, and Hunger, you really have to have a great film about the IRA to get attention. This film not only succeeds as a film that belongs with the others mentioned, but it is really an impressive film.The lighting, scenery, costumes and photography, and background music all contribute to the film in a way that one expects of a great film about Britain in the 90s.Andrea Riseborough (Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley), Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina), David Wilmot (Intermission), and Brid Brennan (Dancing at Lughnasa) gave notable performances allowing us to really feel the personal dilemmas and betrayal they experienced.Good espionage films tend to keep my interest, and this was edge-of-the- seat action.

Set during the start of the 90s Irish peace process, an active member of the IRA is forced to become an informant for the MI5 after they use her young son as bait. She moves back home to Belfast and reimmerses herself into the world of violence and terrorism, all the while worried for her – and her son's – safety, in case she gets found out.Movies about the IRA, and The Troubles in general, always interest me. I think it's because that whole period is based in a country so close to me, about a time so close to me, that it resonates. So I was quite pleased when 'Shadow Dancer' arrived on my desk. And, for the most, I was quite impressed by this British movie.Problem is that it's not the actual story I was impressed by. It's not bad, to be fair of it. This is set at a time when the Troubles were coming to an end, so the portrayal of how this causes fractions in an Irish family is an intelligent and somewhat fresh one. However, despite the very good actors playing the family (Riseborough, Gillen, Gleeson, Brennan), I just never feel emotionally attached to them. The ending is a very powerful one, but it's more the visceral impact than the emotional one which stuck with me.What actually impressed me was Andrea Riseborough's performance. As she demonstrated in Madonna's 'W.E.', Riseborough has the ability to be brilliant in average films. Okay, 'Shadow Dancer' is a bit better than average, but she was so much better than the film deserved. From her very first scene, where the camera follows her along a train journey, the silence of it all permeated by a very expressive face, she commands the show. Clive Owen tries hard to keep up and, while he's also very good, he's no match for her. Everyone else has too undeveloped a role to really get invested in, which is a shame.'Shadow Dancer' is a great movie for those of you who love meaty characters, power shifts and twists and turns. The execution isn't perfect, but this film has all of that. But why you should really want to watch this is if you like seeing a powerhouse performance from one of the best British actresses of recent times.

The film starts excellently by 25 minutes of high level, with surgical, captivating scenes that are the opening scene in Belfast, the subway scene in London and the interrogation. At this moment, one is thinking this might be a great movie.Unfortunately, the rest is less glorious because the script runs out of steam quite violently and turns to an ultra conventional thriller relying on predictable developments. The rhythm falls simultaneously with the interest for this more than classical plot. The movie therefore ends linearly by a not so surprising unfolding.Too bad because the beginning was very good and the quality of the mise-en-scène, the cinematography and the cast augured a much more singular movie, despite a theme — the Troubles — already largely depicted.