Review of The Dead Don't Die (2019) by Agent_Ash — 02 Jul 2021
From the technical perspective, The Dead Don't Die appears to be a bad movie. It introduces characters that don't do anything relevant or simply disappear at some point, deus ex machina, unresolved conflicts and awkward 4th-wall breaking... But a joke without a punchline is bad only if it was actually meant to be a joke (or funny). The witty dialogue, masterful camerawork and great acting leave no doubts: it's not sloppy filmmaking, it's completely intentional. It's just that Jarmusch didn't really want to make a movie. He wanted to screw with you.
What surprises me most about the reviews for this movie is that the majority of both negative AND positivce ones I see mention environmenta/social commentary, compare it to Only Lovers Left Alive, and talk about other crap that has nothing to do with the point of the movie (which is, again, Jarmusch screwing with you).
The Dead Don't Die is not a zombie movie. It's honestly 'barely a movie at all. It's a meta-satire: it satirizes zombie tropes, character tropes, and movie tropes in general. It's a story full of Chekhov's guns, none of which ever goes off—but it's intentional.
Of course, when a movie tries so hard to not be one it's hard to say if it's actually enjoyable. There are plenty of things to like here and plenty of things to be annoyed about. If you manage to find it in yourself to laugh *with* Jarmusch, then it just might be great fun.
This review of The Dead Don't Die (2019) was written by Agent_Ash on 02 Jul 2021.
The Dead Don't Die has generally received mixed reviews.
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