Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32192 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-25
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 109 minutes

Synopsis
A man returns to his Glaswegian estate following time in prison. He finds things are different and not like they used to be. There's going to be changes... Gangster movie.

Customer Reviews

Powerful and passionate
This is a very fine film, with a strong cast and some excellent performances -- though it has to be said that some are playing so true to type they could have acted their parts in their sleep. (James Cosmo's crime boss springs to mind) Alex Fern shines as Jimmy Kerrigan, the ex-gangster who emerges from a 9 year prison term a changed man. He returns home to Glasgow, presented as a ruined city of chaos and crime, determined to work through his probation and then emigrate to the peace of a Greek island. A catholic priest (the always watchable Tom Georgeson) offers him the opportunity to escape his prescribed anger management classes by joining the parish am dram group who are working on the annual passion play. Strong echoes of 'Jesus of Montreal' here.

Inevitably, he takes the role of Jesus and the play becomes the focus of a campaign to rid the community of crime bringing Jimmy into conflict with members of the group, his old boss and the corrupt local police.
Some may find the religious imagery of the film - it is self-conciously a parable - a little heavy-handed, but I thought as an exploration of the Christian themes of sacrifice and atonement the film worked very well. Some notes jarred, especially the rather utopian and over-optimistic picture of a community ridding itself of its criminal oppressors, but despite this I'd say this is a film which deserves to be much better known and I highly recommend it.

More than a gangster movie
This is a gripping tale of a battle between good and evil, a passion play acted out in grim Glasgow.The hero is released from prison after a sentence for gun-running. Back home he resists the approaches of his old gang boss and his henchman, a corrupt senior detective. His brother is on drugs, his mother dying in hospital.His parole involves being under the care of a priest who gets him acting in a passion play. Soon our hero is exposing the hypocrisy of his fellow players and doing battle with his old gang over their pimping and other crimes. Here is a good cast with some very well known actors. The plot has some surprising twists with sparkling humour. My one criticism is that the standard of Glaswegian dialogue makes Taggart sound like received pronunciation. Non Scots need subtitles. But this is a well made film with a strong presentation of the continuing conflict between good and evil at the heart of the Christian message. Here we have a Judas and an unlikely Messiah. Only one question remains. Why the title?

Beautifully bleak
Made for around 1/6th of the typical hollywood price, Man Dancin' is of a high quality. It portrays humour, anger and great sadness through brilliantly real characters. Although there are similarities with the story of Jesus, it is certainly not a parallel and stands strong without the religious references. A well made film which definately deserves to be seen.