Mike Hodges has a well-deserved reputation as one of the master innovators of genre cinema. With I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, he adds to his acclaim by showcasing a vision and expertise that illustrate his complete command of the material, beginning with Get Carter and, most recently, Croupier. What a marvelous ride through the side alleys and underworld of contemporary London this film gives us! I'll Sleep When I'm Dead is a film that both fascinates and repels, that is both cerebral and muscular, that unearths tensions in a wholly unexpected fashion and explores dimensions of the fictional universe that literally take us to another realm.

As is his custom, Hodges shares the "made by" film credit with his screenwriter, Trevor Preston, with whom he has constructed characters who are immediately recognizable but also fatally and fascinatingly human. Blessed with an exceptional cast that includes Clive Owen, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Charlotte Rampling, and Malcolm McDowell, the filmmakers still manage to subordinate their high-profile presence to telling this circuitous tale of vengeance and revelation. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead displays the complete range of film arts. A consuming and stimulating work and a theoretical thriller, it is a film which could only be created by a remarkably skillful filmmaker.
- Geoffrey Gilmore, Sundance Film Catalog