Shadow Dancer

[cliveas]

As has been said already the organisation of this screening was chaotic even by the standards of the Haymarket. The introductions were just plain cringeworthy; if you can't introduce Clive Owen without getting his name wrong then perhaps this isn't the role for you!

I actually had no problem with the accents, but my friend (who is English) did and he clearly wasn't alone.

I was surprised by some of the early comments as I rather enjoyed the film. It had the low budget feel of a BBC film but while not a classic I thought it was a worthwhile effort to put a different emphasis on a background subject matter that has been covered extensively. I thought the Q&A was not bad also, although admittedly the more interesting stuff was covered towards the end - after Beate had left.

[Ms Thrifty]

The trailer made this look really scary to me, and rather put me off as I didn't think I could face the tension. Was it really like that, or was that just the editing?

[Beate]

The trailer is totally misleading - there is no tension at all.

[jeanelle]

It's definitely not scary either and I just looked at the trailer to see what you were talking about - there is a major spoiler in it!

[cliveas]

I can't agree that there is no tension, but it's not scary at all.

As far as the trailer is concerned I just watched it as well and if you are referring to what I think - then that doesn't seem to give away who it relates to. However as far as I am concerned it is one long spoiler really. I knew there was a reason why I very rarely watch trailers.

[Diane65]

Quite a good film can't say its one I enjoyed but a fairly accurate portrayal of what it Belfast in the troubled areas was like at that time. OH was based there in the mid 1990's (not in the forces but at NTL) and as he is called Sean Patrick it is obvious that he is Irish catholic and there were places where he couldn't go but as I'm English protestant I had no problems getting served when I was there in certain areas - if I hadn't experienced it I wouldn't have realised how realistic it was. It is daunting walking down a road where there is tricolours hanging from windows whereas OH felt uncomfortable when it had red, white and blue on the paving stones. It was a bit misleading her meeting him on foot on the harbour Road as you do need a car to get there. The fashion was a bit dated for 1993 especially as she was apparently late 20's at the time so she would have stood out in London.

[soonforgotten]

Saw this last week at the premiere, thanks to Celini.

Definitely a film that could have been better and an example, I think, of an author not prepared to make necessary changes for a cinematic adaptation. Still, Riseborough is highly impressive.

http://londonfilmfanatiq.com/2012/08/21/shadow-dancer/

[rgareh]

Saw this at the Showcase in Manchester.

Had little expectation from the film, but I would say I was pleasantly surprised. Build-up was slow - I agree. Having said that, I think this was probably intended. The atmosphere generated was on-edge... Not thriller/horror on-edge, but just tense enough to keep your attention.

The cinema treated us all very well... no celebs afaik, but walked straight in and comfy reclining seats throughout!

Not everyone's cup of tea, but personally enjoyed it.

[RickyRaj]

Don't think I will bother with this having read the reviews - another one to add to the DVD list.

[TimWarlow]

So I went to see this yesterday at the Mayfair Hotel. Though the hotel itself is very grand, the cinema itself isn't great. If you are unlucky enough to have a tall person infront of you, it's bad luck! The room was also pretty warm.

Onto the film... I gave it 6/10. I thought it would be better suited as a TV drama as opposed to being on the big screen.

We had a Q&A with the writer afterwards. He kept describing it as a thriller (I disagree - there were few thrills) and that they wanted to remove the politics so that we didn't take sides. Well, I'm afraid that had the affect of making it difficult to empathise and relate to the characters. That said, it did hold my interest and there were a few great moments.

On a separate note, I was really disappointed to see how many people flooded out of the cinema straight after the screening. It looked only 40-50% full for the Q&A session. If you receive a free ticket then I think having the decency to stay for the Q&A is important IMHO.