Review of Dead Man (1995) by Devin R — 19 Jan 2010
An off-beat and quirky grizzly anti-western from American auteur Jim Jarmusch about William Blake (Johnny Depp), an accountant, who accidentally becomes an outlaw on the run in the wild west from professional gunmen.
During Blake's attempt to outrun death he meets a kind Indian named "Nobody" who mistakes him for the famous British poet of the same name. Nothing is conventional about Jarmusch's film.
Depp is great in the lead (he almost always is) in what I would claim to be perhaps one of his best and most certainly underseen performances. Depp along with the film's exquisite black & white cinematography mixed with a score by Neil Young make this one a curious must-see.
Don't expect to get a truly engaging experience out of Dead Man though, this is mostly a film exercise that comes off like subtle poetry; sometimes zigging when you think it will zag. I might need a second viewing to completely grasp this piece of work, but poetry is like that sometimes.
This review of Dead Man (1995) was written by Devin R on 19 Jan 2010.
Dead Man has generally received positive reviews.
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