Dead Man (1995)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Only Jim Jarmusch could direct a Western like this: A poetry-loving American Indian mistakes accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) for the English writer of the same name, while bounty hunters take Blake for a murderer. Jarmusch packs the film with an unlikely collection of castmates, including Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, John Hurt and Robert Mitchum in one of his last roles.
REVIEW: I’m hovering at 4 or more stars though I think that the next time I see this (and I will want to see this again) I’ll be at 5. Dead Man looks like a poem, what with its gorgeous use of black and white, actual use of poetry and references to William Blake, poetic ending, its not completely unilateral storyline, and sense of something deeper happening underneath the plot point, but works and entertains like a movie with a plot. Its characters are life-and-blood people and there are no fantasy or surrealistic elements (a la Bunuel or Lynch). What you see is happening, but the plot points are interspersed so quickly and most characters are in one scene and out the next that there’s a dream-like sense to the whole thing, especially with the ending. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the characters in the movie act like they’re inside a poem, a very cool poem.
William Blake (Johnny Depp), in what his American Indian buddy calls “your clown suit” (a huge bowtie and exaggerated plaid matching suit), travels by train to a dusty little town where he’s been hired (or thinks he’s been hired) as an accountant. Crispin Glover and he have an hilarious exchange on the train about the town, topped off by Blake’s observing of a shoot-out from within the train (welcome to town!), and from there I had an idea of what I was in for. Blake gets to the town and, based on what he sees walking to the office, understands that this is far from what he’s used to back in Cleveland. At the same time, I think that this is far from what I’m used to in watching movies.
Once he gets to the office, he finds out in no uncertain terms that they have no idea who he is, haven’t hired him for the job and, from there on out, like Alice through the looking glass, he meets many strange, eccentric characters, some wonderful (Nobody - the American Indian outcast who befriends him through the movie and is convinced that he is William Blake, the poet; a set of three fur-trappers that are absolutely hilarious and a little “too friendly” with William Blake) and some out to do him harm (namely the three bounty hunters hired to get Blake back, dead or alive, and thus the title of the film).
The film is a Western in name only in that it’s set in the era of trains, American Indians, and frontier settlers, but the uniqueness of this film is off-the-charts. The Neil Young solo electric guitar riffs that serve as the score highlight both points. There’s also a humorous overtone to the whole film (Nobody to Depp, when he first meets him - “what’s your name, stupid white man?”) though the ending is so poignant and moving, I hover between a 4 and 5 based on that. The ending closes the loop on a major plot point, yet lets your imagination loose on another.
Everything works together perfectly in this film - the tone, the look, the sound, the actors, the story - yet it’s also one of those films where I know that each time I revisit it I’ll see something or feel something I hadn’t before. I only saw it once, but at the end of it, I knew I wanted to see it again.
4.5 stars
Audrey
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Review: I am not sure why I liked this movie, it is so not my cup of tea but there was something about the characters, music, scenery, etc that was mesmerizing. There isn’t much dialogue but you don’t need endless monologue to understand where Jarmusch is taking you on this journey. Depp’s character, Blake, crosses the country in a train, which in itself was a strange experience. You are just along for the ride to his final destination Machine. You can tell how out of place he is right from the beginning; even as his character is hunted down he still has some innocence but with an edge. There is a love that develops between Blake and Nobody (I think he steals the movie). What an odd pair — but it works.
If you want something out of the ordinary this is definitely one to check out. The bonus is seeing Iggy Pop in his get-up; who knew the man could act? The only problem I had was John Hurt, I would flash back to him as Mr. Ollivander from Harry Potter. The movie done in black and white was the only way to go, it brought more grit to the movie.
4 stars
Bear
