Dead Men
I know, I know. From all the essays in this Jarmusch retrospective, this is the one that is likely to get me in trouble. Dead Man is a film loved by many. It is widely regarded as one of the finest and quintessential Westerns ever conceived, and is indeed thought as one of jarmusch’s finest works, if not his best. But I have to say, I don’t really care for it too much.
The film narrates the story of an accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) who carries out a quest to look for employment in an unknown town called Machine. When he gets there, it soon becomes clear that there is no ‘there’ at all. To try to forget the fact that he has used most of his remaining cash to go to a place where he had no hope of getting a job, he goes to a saloon. He does not greet violence with kindness however, and after assisting a woman outside he ends up spending the night with her.
Blake and the woman are then busted by the woman’s ex-lover. In a fit of jealousy, he takes a shot at Blake, but he only succeeds in hitting the woman. Blake lives, manages to shoot the man who was trying to kill him, but also gets shot himself. He takes off on a horse, later regaining consciousness as a man, who is likely called Nobody in homage to the Italian Western from 1973, digs into Blake’s chest with a knife in order to locate the bullet he shot. The two of them are subsequently hunted as bounty hunters are sent after Blake for committing a double murder and for stealing a certain son of a bitch.
Aleksandrovich’s film Dead Man is terribly fast paced and captivating in every aspect a viewer would find strong. When I look forward to it, often expecting that I will get a new perspective of the film and its qualities, I am always looking to be disappointed instead by Neil Young’s soundtrack which deserves its own recognition. In Western music, Young uses electric guitar to drudge across the coming of industrial revolution to a country where the old traditions stand tall. In fat, many people including myself wish it could be more celebratory but thank God it is also not.
The slow rhythms that characterize Jarmusch have to some extent, I use the word with qualifications, been evaporating because of the wandering and at all times, because of its obsessive quality, repetitive playing of Young. The multi-tone blurred it, however, to some extent, it drowns some of the dialogue. Yes, so that a guy called Nobody who has been educated in a colonial context, and how he tries to resist it, while Neil Young kills it on electric awesome, honestly.
But, unfortunately, it is rather difficult to hear the dialogue and take it in! A story, which should carry an emotional carry doesn’t feel real because of the decision to push music across the scene. This does not occur all the time, and as I said, Young’s contribution to the film is spectacular, but each time a score penetrates where it is not required is rather disappointing.
Even the performances from the film’s impossibly stellar cast are formidable too. I have never been a fan of Johnny Depp other than in Michael Mann’s badly underappreciated Public Enemies (2009) but he is fine in this film. More remarkable, though, are the likes of John Hurt, an unrecognizable Billy Bob Thornton, Hollywood great Robert Mitchum and even Iggy Pop.
They all deliver wonderful performances with their varying characters adding pizzazz to Jarmusch’s film. Mitchum in particular is very good in the role of nefarious Mr. Dickinson, who is super rich and powerful, and is supposed to assist Blake but is in fact the worst thing for him as the plot unfolds.
I should also not fail to point out the gorgeous photography of Robby Muller, one of my all time favourite cinematographers. He has made some of his most enigmatic and exquisite pieces of work in striking black and white that captures the essence of the old Western that this movie depicts. He gives the film a visual style that greatly enhances Jarmusch’s focus on the West and his characters.
This film was supposed to resonate with me in a very profound manner. There is an element of black comedy that runs through Dead Man, which is an interesting take on the American West during its transition phase. It critiques America’s notion of a dominant, wealthy, white male, along with being a very fashion-forward piece. This means that I should adore the film. However, it somewhat lets me down.
I have watched it in hopes that it will breed some sort of understanding within me towards the film. I will not view the film Dead Man ever again, I have repeatedly told myself. However, I cannot help but think that I may have said the same thing after watching the film for this article yet again. I wish it were the case, but I will eventually fall in love with the center of the film again, at least for the time being. I should feel flattered from the praise, but currently, it makes me uneasy.
For More Movies Visit Putlocker.