Dead Man

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Anakin M Apr 22, 2019 A thoughtful Western with brilliant humor. Jim Jarmusch's comedic Western film Dead Man (1995) is a slow burn that will make you laugh and ponder the nature of life. Jarmusch writes in such a way that gives you room to breath in his surreal atmosphere and the biting sarcasm in his jokes. Dead Man in itself is a joke, but also a serious rumination on life's purpose and how you choose to life based on the circumstances that life throws at you. It's a clever script from Jarmusch that challenges the audience to think about what they are seeing and why. I love Dead Man! Neil Young's atmospheric alternative rock soundtrack is perfect for Dead Man's airy feel and foreboding tone. His reverb filled guitar strumming and acid rock laced lead melodies tinge Dead Man with a fearsome aura. Young provides a sense of dread to Dead Man that fits every scene beautifully. Jarmusch's direction is ghostly and wondrous as every shot is either a spooky wide shot wherein anything can happen or an intense close-up of gripping emotional weight. Jarmusch's deliberately slower pace keeps you in suspense for the next kill, while you are anticipating the next line with the same excitement. Johnny Depp is an apt choice for the lead. Fresh off his goofy and endearing role as Ed Wood for Tim Burton, Depp leans into the strange outsider role for Jim Jarmusch in Dead Man. Depp makes his character William Blake a daydreamer and a thinker. His increasing tendency for violence feels like second nature and Depp has rarely felt as cool as he transforms throughout Dead Man. Gary Farmer is hilarious, likable, and thoughtful as the Native American Nobody. His constantly poetic verbalizing is fun and gives the audience some themes to ponder as they watch Dead Man. His chemistry with Depp is particularly fun. Crispin Glover's sole scene is immediately hypnotizing as you are launched into Dead Man's deadpan delivery and dark humor through Glover's insane monologue as the train fireman. Lance Henriksen is fearsome as Cole Wilson the bounty hunter. His menacing glare and gravel voice are haunting. Together with the funny blathering Michael Wincott as Conway Twill, they set up the poor blunt Eugene Byrd as Johnny the Kid. Dead Man is full of outstanding supporting roles and mind-blowing cameos. Namely, Sir John Hurt is so sleazy and cruel as John Scholfield. Likewise, the intimidating deep voiced legend that was Robert Mitchum is brilliant as the villainous John Dickinson. It's astounding that Jim Jarmusch convinces these two acting titans to act in Dead Man, and I am so glad he did! Iggy Pop is hilarious as the Bible reading Salvatore "Sally" Jenko. Billy Bob Thornton's slack-jawed simpleton Big George Drakoulious. Jared Harris as Benmont Tench gets several hilarious moments alongside these two against Depp's Blake. Even Gabriel Byrne makes an unforgettable cameo as Charlie Dickinson. I adored Mili Avital's short sequence. She plays up the witty flirt so sincerely alongside Depp. I must mention that Alfred Molina's trading post missionary is hilarious and creepy at once. Also, Jim Jarmusch got Steve Buscemi as the bartender that gives Depp a smaller bottle than he ordered as that is sadly all he could afford. Overall, Dead Man is a wickedly funny satire on the Western genre. It takes a man down on his luck and beats him down further with each new horrid encounter with a foe. Depp's performance is pitted against many of the greatest actors who ever lived and he still impresses. Dead Man is easily in my top five Westerns ever now. See more

Abraham M Apr 11, 2019 Loved this film. Open to interpretation , the haunting musical score, black and white and slow meandering death of Johnny's character. Love how so much can be portrayed without many words and Johnny Depp's eyes, doey innocence , love's tenderness, dying pain, desperation all emotions without needing verbosity. This movie stayed with me days after I saw it. See more

Anakin W Aug 21, 2018 This film is difficult to describe, because it comes with multiple questions which go unanswered. I'm not sure if there's an underlying meaning here, but that didn't stop me from appreciating the mysterious beauty of this one. The film never felt surreal, but it always felt dreamlike as it had a decent amount of out-of-place scenes which give it the sense that it warrants several viewings to absorb everything. This was a great tone as it achieved just the right balance for it to work. I'm not sure the final act was a satisfying payoff as it felt a little anticlimactic, but the rest of the film certainly warrants it a recommendation. See more

Kylo S Jul 26, 2018 Only Jim Jarmusch could pull off a western this crazy and beautiful. Wonderfully odd performances and a terrific score to boot.

George R May 23, 2018 I so wanted to like it! I loved the last 3 films from Jim Jarmusch I watched and I am very surprised to find myself bored after finishing this one. The movie is, just like the OST, very random and very slow. I found beauty, just like all the other ones I watched, but I was not really attracted nor entertained from it. See more

Apr 2, 2018 a film that i think outlined the upbringing of the west very well, from the use of guns, to all the UNNECESSARY bloodshed.

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Dead Man

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