Review of Dead Man (1995) by Al M — 11 Dec 2010
If Dead Man lacks a bit in terms of plot, it more than makes up for this in terms of style, humor, and utterly surrealistic strangeness. Dead Man is a postmodern Western that can only be compared to works like Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo, and Alex Cox's Straight to Hell, but none of these works prepare you for this cinematic experience that can only be called Jarmuschian.
A completely phenomenal cast, a humorous self-conscious script, and absolutely sublime cinematography and direction make Dead Man an experience that is not easily described in words. Jarmusch includes gritty elements that somewhat align his film with the Westerns of Leone and Peckinpah, but Dead Man's violence is always almost comical despite its gruesome nature--the death scenes always play like slapstick even though they are shot in beautiful black and white cinematography.
In fact, above all else, Jarmusch's Dead Man is a comedy, a postmodern comedy that laughs at the futility of our existence and our inability to understand the cruel and irrational nature of existence.
Thus, while Jarmuisch deconstructs the Western genre, he also deconstructs our place in the universe where we strive towards a meaning that can never be obtained.
This review of Dead Man (1995) was written by Al M on 11 Dec 2010.
Dead Man has generally received positive reviews.
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