Culture

British spy thriller Shadow Dancer has just the right amount of thrill, a good sprinkling of snooping, and not too much dramatic music, eavesdropping, or complicated spy networks. Collette, a young mother and member of a family heavily embroiled in the IRA, gets caught dropping a bomb in the London tube and is given an ultimatum. The offer: report weekly to the MI5 about the goings-on in the IRA, or be handed over to the police with a dossier of evidence implicating her in the terrorist group. She chooses the spy option (sorry, a few spoilers in this review) and tries her best to not get caught by the nasty/creepy male members of the IRA, who seem to have no qualms about getting rid of anyone standing in their way.

Shadow Dancer is very clever in its juggling of family relationships, political undertones, and the interaction between spy and spymaster. While not too hard to follow (unlike Tinker Tailor Solider Spy – recently released spy movie/clusterf**k), the film takes unexpected turns, and there are some total “shit, didn’t see that coming” moments. The film depicts the 1990s-era IRA doing some pretty ruthless stuff and looking like the bad guys, which I know might be a slightly skewed representation of the conflict between the Irish and the British around this time. Admittedly there is a bit of a gap in my historical knowledge in this area, so if you’re in the same boat you might want to check out some Irish history before you see the film (wassup Wikipedia).

If you’re keen for something exciting, engaging or are just a sucker for crime, thriller, or action movies, check out this film!

1st & 7th August - Regent Theatre