PREVIEW: Shadow Dancer (15)

Academy Award winning British director James Marsh brings you something different with his new film Shadow Dancer. 
Best known for directing Man on Wire, Project Nim and The King, this film establishes Marsh's status as one of the best British versatile film-makers we have.


The cast showcases a whole host of superb acting talent with the likes of Clive Owen (Sin City, King Arthur and The International) and Andrea Riseborough (Made in Dagenham, Happy-Go-Lucky) taking the lead, supported solidly by Gillian Anderson (The X Files), Domhnall Gleeson (True Grit) and Aiden Gillen (The Dark Knight Rises).

The screenplay is based upon the novel of the same name written by ITN political correspondent Tom Bradby from his work in Ireland from 1993-1996. All the way through the decades from the 1970's to as recent as last year, the unrest and hatred from the IRA in Northern Ireland towards the British forms the backdrop for Marsh's engaging thriller set in 1990's Belfast.

At the start of the film we join Northern Ireland's Colette McVeigh (Riseborough) on the London Underground as she nervously holds a bag. Whatever her intentions she is stopped by the arrival of British intelligence officer Mac (Owen). Mac offers her an ultimatum: become an informer for the British or go to prison. Reluctantly Colettee accepts and returns to Belfast, betraying family beliefs and becoming a British mole. However, watched over carefully by her two brothers Connor (Gleeson) and Gerry (Gillen), both active IRA terrorists, their suspicions of their sister grows.

As the net closes in on Colette and Mac they both take risks to protect one another and the people they love, whilst Mac's senior bosses seem ever more distant from the project. Is there something else going on between the two sides that neither Mac nor Colette know about?


Officially selected for the Berlin and Sundance International Film Festivals and winner of Best Performance in a British Feature Film for Andrea Riseborough, it's clear that Shadow Dancer has quality throughout from the cast right through to the screenplay.

*An intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama*

Dan Jolin

*Riveting performances and tense, water-tight plotting*

Neil Smith

Watch the trailer for yourself of this tense thriller below:

Shadow Dancer is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 21st September at 7.45pm, Saturday 22nd September at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 24th September at 2pm and 7.45pm.