Paddy Considine plays a young ex-soldier who returns to his small hometown to exact revenge upon the local thugs who treated his younger, mentally-retarded (I don't like that word but it IS the most fitting in this case IMO) brother so badly. That's all I want to say about the film, the rest is about the performance of the masterful Considine.<br /><br />In this movie (and, almost equally, in A Room For Romeo Brass) Paddy Considine outshines practically every other actor with career opportunities in the early part of the 21st century. He will gain your sympathy, wring emotion from you, terrify you and leave you slack-jawed and in awe of his talent as he burns through the screen to face everyone and everything with a blatant disregard for his own personal safety.<br /><br />This movie resonates so much with me because I know many little, ultimately insignificant, "hard men" like those shown here, the big fish in little ponds who would not last 5 minutes outside their comfort zone. And Considine drags them outside that zone, bloodied, kicking and screaming.<br /><br />Part bodycount flick, part emotional drama, part vengeance movie, it all adds up to one of the most satisfying pieces of work that the UK has provided since . . . . well, since goodness knows when. A modern masterpiece and, worried as I was about subsequent viewings, one that loses none of it's power no matter how many times you watch it.<br /><br />See this if you like: A Room For Romeo Brass, Paddy Considine, Death Sentence.