Shadow Dancer is a 2012 British-Irish drama / spy thriller directed by James Marsh and based on the novel of the same name by Tom Bradby.
Colette McVeigh: widow, mother, terrorist. A woman who has lived the Republican cause for all her 29 years. A woman whose brothers are both heavily involved at a senior level of the IRA, whose husband was killed by British security forces. A woman who is now an informer for MI5.
Arrested in an aborted bombing attempt in London, Colette is given two choices: talk and see her son again, or stay silent and spend the rest of her life watching him grow up from behind the bars of a prison cell.
Awards
- British Independent Film Awards 2012 – Won Best Actress Andrea Riseborough
- Dinard British Film Festival 2012 – Won Audience Award
- Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012 – Won Best Performance in a British Feature Film Andrea Riseborough, Nominated Best British Feature Film
- Irish Film and Television Awards 2013 Nominated Best Film
- London Critics Circle Film Awards 2013 Won British Actress of the Year Andrea Riseborough
Reviews
“While not designed to entertain on the level of style and spectacle that one expects from a Bond film, this tense period drama from the director of “Man on Wire” presents a far more credible take on the daring exploits of British agents.” indieWIRE
“The movie takes no political positions. With an icy detachment, it peers through the fog of war and examines the slippery military intelligence on both sides to portray a world steeped in secrecy, deception and paranoia.” The New York Times
“This low-key and engrossing Belfast-based drama is as much a well-acted character study as it is a thriller about the conflict in Northern Ireland.” USA Today
“As beige as an old PC, but beneath the surface the blood pumps bright scarlet. An intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama.” Empire
“With a conclusion that arrives as an open-ended gut punch, you're not just left lingering with unanswered questions, but the sensation that James Marsh has delivered something truly special.” The Playlist
“An expertly calibrated drama confirming Marsh’s status as one of Britain’s most formidable filmmakers.” Total Film
