The basic plot for I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead is pretty straightforward. Will Graham (Clive Owen, Gosford Park), a former gangster who has been living “retired” in the country for the past three years gets fired from his job working for a logging company, comes into town to see his brother and discovers that his brother has killed himself. Will then decides to find out why his brother committed suicide, which sets him on a path of revenge.
In more detail, the movie begins with a scene showing Will in the forest witnessing a man getting beat up by some kids. He walks away from it, then decides to go back and help him out. He gets the man’s address from his wallet and drives him home. This was probably meant as some sort of character development for Will but it absolutely did not work at all. As the movie progresses, you wonder if the man had any relation to what happens later on and end up feeling let down by this pointless beginning.
Cut to Davey Graham (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Vanity Fair), a small-time crook, drug dealer and all around scum bag, he sells some coke at a party and on his way home gets raped by Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange) for no apparent reason. Will then gets fired from his job because he can’t provide any paperwork from his past, much to the dismay of his foreman who supposedly can’t do without him.
In amazingly coincidental timing, this causes Will to start looking for his brother just after Davey kills himself after the psychological trauma of being “buggered”. If he hadn’t been laid off, chances are no one would’ve been able to find him as he’s had no contact with anyone from his old life in 11 months. Then you go on a string of visits to coroners, reuniting with old criminal buddies, pissing off local ganglords, and ultimately discovering the motives for the rape.
Everything falls flat in this, the ultimate reasoning for the rape is laughably bad, the upsetting of the gangsters is pointless and doesn’t actually lead anywhere. There is a pointless reuniting with an ex-girlfriend which seems to just be there to show more of Will being a “tortured soul”.
On the bright side the acting all around was excellent, Clive Owen was, as always, excellent, it’s too bad it was in such a mediocre movie.
One of the biggest problems with this movie is you really don’t care at all about Davey, he is an asshole of the highest order and elicits no sympathy whatsoever, you don’t really care that this scumbag has killed himself.
This is also the first DVD in recent memory to have absolutely no bonus features whatsoever, unless you count scene selection and different language tracks as a special feature. A making of featurette would’ve been nice. An interview with the director or writer explaining their thoughts on the movie might’ve fleshed out the story somewhat. Even a commentary track would’ve been a welcome addition to this.
