Review of Dead Man (1995) by Tristanm. — 17 Dec 2007

Hi Marcus Im only giving this 10 becuase its my favourite movie of all time. I am not a huge fan of Jarmusch's other works generally but I will give him his dues as an artist for producing this masterpiece.

* SPOiLIERS * Poetic, beautiful, hilariously black and so amazingly surreal you feel as though floating through one of those beautiful nightmares you have when with a fever. When Wiliam Blake is injured early on it doesnt take much to figure out he is headed for the afterworld with his Indian friend Nobody, or He Who Talks Loud Saying Nothing, as his guide.

Blake is a regular joe accountant from the city who is thrust into unlikely and unlikeable situations, not least of all by Nobody, who single-handedly transforms the white man into the visionary poet of the same name.

Blake is sorely and deeply injured, suffering from hunger and fatigue. This is his 'quest for vision' as Nobody puts it. The beauty of the film is in Blake's transformation into fearlessness while undergoing this quest, despite events consistently turning for the worst for him.

Compare his inital reaction when faced with a gun in Dickinson's office to his coolly poetic execution of the sheriffs. I love Neil Young's soundtrack, beautiful, haunting and twisted. The way he adds chugging effects with repetitive thrumming on his guitar reminds me of the train scene at the start, and I get a feeling the train is a metaphor for the whole film.

You know exactly where its going and you cant change direction or lay down more track. One slight criticism is that the soundtrack was overused at times toward the end, and could possibly have used more subtlety.

The cinematography is briliant. So many stark and powerful images remain with me after this film, in part due to it being B & W but mostly because of the sheer variety of surreal scenes. This is Johnny Depp at his best, playing the maligned misfit perfectly.

He has such enduring consistency to his acting which at times can make him a little predictable, but this role suited him to a tea. Gary Farmer is excellent and very funny as Nobody. The rest of the cast including a host of cameos were also excellent with consistently well-drawn characters.

ok, all done. By the way if you like this film and enjoy challenging films I also love 'Requiem for a Dream'. Its definitely not for the faint-hearted though.