In Dead Man's Shoes, Richard takes on the role of a vengeful God while his mentally challenged brother Anthony assumes the role of Christ.

The most striking connection between Anthony and Christ is made in a late scene in which Sonny's gang mercilessly tortures Anthony near an abandoned farmhouse. Bringing to mind the suffering of Christ, the scene emphasises the belief that Christ chose, and was not forced, to die for the sins of humanity. The scene even includes a Pontius Pilate figure, who has the power to stop the ordeal but does not.

Another similarity becomes apparent with a key revelation in the film. Although Anthony exhibits an appealing type of simplicity and grace from the beginning, Meadows grants him actual transcendence by the story's conclusion. The many shots of Richard and Anthony walking through field and forest achieve a level spirituality.

As God, Richard is always distant from other characters in the film. He appears mainly to pass judgement on them, and the way in which he surprises and frightens his victims, those responsible for the "death of his son", borders on the supernatural. He appears and disappears almost at will, and has an aura of invincibility. He doesn't flinch at the thought of being shot. Juxtaposed with the exaggerated panic and fallibility of the gang members, Richard is cold and inhuman, but never entirely frightening. What Meadows stresses is Richard's otherness.

The conclusion of Dead Man's Shoes is interesting because it offers two endings. Without getting into details that would ruin the film, it is sufficient to say that one is entirely pessimistic and embroils us all in a terrible crime. The second, however, is quite the opposite. It offers comfort and redemption.

Dead Man's Shoes is much more than its synopsis.

Rating: 3.0 / 4.0