Visible crew/equipment: When they unearth the cadaver, you can see in some shots that he wears a blue string. One of the men even sees it and tries to hide it subtly.
Continuity mistake: When John comes to get Dawn and they leave Sally's house, the Chihuahua isn't with them, but all of a sudden it is back with them on and off throughout the movie. (00:05:45)
Other mistake: Sam asks Leo if she can see his gun, then she points it at him. He laughs and says the clip is removed and that he would never have let her have a loaded gun. She shows him the clip she has stolen from his pocket, loads it into the gun, and cocks it. When she cocks it, a round comes out, meaning that there was already a round in the chamber, so he did give her a loaded gun. She only had one shot, but it was still loaded.
Factual error: The film is set in the 1950s. In the scene where Ewan McGregor and Peter Mullan are waiting for a load of coal (the morning after they discover the body), there is a close-up shot of Ewan McGregor's head and shoulders. In the background is a huge container ship, slightly out of focus. Containers were not introduced to Europe until 1966 and the ship in this film was probably built in the 1980s.
Factual error: Sean is tailing his victim, taking photos with an old Polaroid camera (the kind that prints instant photos). In one scene, he is sitting on a bench and takes several shots. When he shows these pictures later, some are zoomed in on the subjects, when it would not be possible to zoom with this camera. He would have had to get up and walk toward them, thus giving himself away.
Continuity mistake: When Colm Meaney and Colin Farrell have the shoot-out right at the end, the material filmed changes between then and when the director is viewing it at the end. First, Farrell shoots Meaney, then the camera goes to white and two more gun-shots go off. Then, when he is watching it later, Farrell pulls the gun from his pocket and the director shoots him straight away. Then when he rewinds it, it shows Colin Farrell pull his gun, the camera man look to the bonnett of the car where the gun is, then bring it up and shoot him.
Plot hole: Aside from the fact that you can't have a semi-automatic rifle delivered to your doorstep (except to an authorized dealer), there's also the fact that the weapon apparently was shipped with a full magazine. This is ridiculous. All the boy did was take the mag from the box to the gun and it started firing right away. One can assume they already had the ammo and filled the mag inside the house. This is countered by the fact that when he takes the mag out of the box, it is empty. Freeze-frame confirms there is not a single cartridge in the magazine before it is inserted into the weapon. (01:21:40)
Revealing mistake: When the Bodyguard attacks the rival gang, he stabs one of the torch carriers, to which we get a close-up of. As the blade goes in, blood comes out - when the Bodyguard removes his blade, there is no stab wound, not even in the torch carriers clothes.
Other mistake: There are no wires going to the phone booths in the town of Cheerful. (00:18:00)
Other mistake: When "the killer" is pumping gas, if you count the clicks associated with a liter going into the tank, they equal a total of 33 liters of gas, not 27 which is what the pump stops on.
Deliberate mistake: DVD version : When Seagal flees from the dig, the car he drives changes from left side control to right side and back. (in close up - you can see the seat to his left).
Continuity mistake: Near the end of the film when Ray and Hilda are having a conversation, Ray's white undershirt alternates between being seen and being hidden under his shirt (on his shoulder).
Factual error: The movie takes place in Des Plaines, Illinois, with a couple of scenes from downtown Chicago. However, throughout the movie you can see both palm trees and mountains in the background, none of which actually exist in Illinois. The producers also point this out on the DVD commentary.
Factual error: At the beginning of the movie, which is supposed to be taking place in 1974 at this point, there is an exterior shot of a police building, with two police cars out front (one with an officer exiting the car) that are about 20 years newer than 1974. (00:07:30)
Character mistake: The letter from the FBI containing the results of the blood and semen test is filled with numerous typos. First, on the line "Subject: Result of examination requested", the word "examination" is misspelled "examnation." Second, the term "DNA instrumental analyses" has "instrumental" incorrectly spelled as "insrumental." Third, the line "Reference: Letter dated October 21, 1987", has the word "dated" misspelled as "dateed" and the month "October" misspelled as "Octorber." (01:58:35)
Other mistake: Towards the end of the movie when Drama has killed himself, the scene leads to the funeral service at the church. As the camera shows Drama in the casket his hands and fingers are clearly moving.