A slow-burning affair where there’s definitely more slow than burning, James Marsh’s IRA piece Shadow Dancer has shades of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy about it, in that we’re dealing with an arthouse-flavoured thriller that is equal parts low-key, serious-minded and, if truth be told, a little dour.

Best known for his recent documentaries Man On Wire and Project Nim, Marsh does bring a raw credibility and pervasive atmosphere to the screen that occasionally makes up for the lack of consistent thrills. The ingredients are all there for a cracking informant yarn, mind you, with the plot following Northern Irish woman Colette McVeigh (Andrea Riseborough) who has been an active member of the IRA ever since her younger brother was shot dead as a child. Flash-forward to the present day, and MI5 operative Mac (Clive Owen) recruits Colette as a reluctant informant, thus placing her in a position where she might have to implicate her family.

Continued at: www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p1262