Shadow Dancer

Director James March has a background in TV and film documentaries, with the highpoint being 2008’s Oscar winning Man on Wire. Here he’s into fictional feature film territory and the results are mixed. Shadow Dancer stars Andrea Riseborough as Colette McVeigh, a member of the IRA who becomes an informant for MI5, with her handler (Mac) being played by Clive Owen. The film is a slow burner if ever there was one, but it never really fully catches fire. That’s not to say there should be shoot out’s and action sequences every ten minutes as March’s film is a more realistic portrayal of the “behind the scenes” circumstances of The Troubles, but the narrative is too static at times and there are numerous scenes were basically nothing is really happening. I haven’t read Tom Bradby’s novel from which this is adapted (Bradby himself is the scripter here), but March’s approach to telling the story is to tell the audience as little as possible and for them to work out what is going on as the minutes pass. It’s a hit and miss approach as it becomes too confusing at times (especially the deathly slow opening 15 minutes) and if you know nothing of the British / Irish situation then you might as well not bother watching in the first place. On the flip side, it’s nice to have an approach where the characters and plot aren’t spoon fed to the viewers and you get to use a bit of your own grey matter. However, March’s direction is as bland as the (well portrayed) 1990’s Belfast setting, though there are a few scenes of decent tension as McVeigh’s family begin to suspect they have a rat in the house. Riseborough is half decent in one of her biggest roles to date, though Owen appears uncertain as to what is really motivating his character and Gillian Anderson is pretty wooden in a small role as Mac’s boss. All in all this isn’t a bad effort from March, but it’s unlikely this is even going to find an audience on DVD due to its sluggish pace and subject matter. March does at least keep you guessing until the final few minutes and there are a couple of nice twists thrown in at the death. One is a cracker, but the other has already been ruined if you’ve seen the trailer and have got eagle eyes.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
The most un-Hollywood film of the year keeps you guessing, but March’s direction and his inability to get decent performances for most of his cast suggest his real talent arguably lies back in non-fiction output. Rating: 6/10.