This is the film that introduced me to Jim Jarmusch's work. Now, after watching several of his movies I can say that "Dead Man" is right there among his best. This is a good movie in every way, it has an original concept and a good execution, but it also has a few problems: viewers may find it a little slow and sometimes it doesn't have a clear message.
The film starts like an ordinary western with accountant William Blake traveling to the town of Machine in order to take up a job. Arriving in Machine, he finds the locals to be hostile towards him and his employer Mr. Dickinson informs him that his job was given to someone else. Out of money and luck, he gets into trouble after he kills Mr. Dickinson's son, Charles, and he finds himself forced to leave town. He is found wounded and unconscious by an Indian named Nobody, who believes that he is the great poet William Blake. From this point on, the film's atmosphere and narrative style somehow dissociate from that of traditional storytelling.
"Dead Man" is filled with symbolism and there are plenty of situations where things have more than one meaning. What I found interesting is the fact that the director left certain details for the viewer's own interpretation. It is one of those films that require multiple viewings in order for the viewer to fully understand what is going on. The film has a slow pace at times, probably to emphasize on the beautiful black and white cinematography. Jim Jarmusch's movie almost has a surreal feeling to it due to the way it is photographed, the lines exchanged between the characters as well as the actions they undertake.
The movie's style is the one that makes it unique, but that may also be its weakness. There are several scenes that are perhaps a bit slow and there are moments when I felt that the director threw in too many symbols. As for the music, while I generally liked Neil Young's score, I thought that it was overused at times and it distracted the viewer from the rest of the film.
Leading man Johnny Depp is good here as usual and this is the kind of role that defined his career in the 90's. Even though Depp plays the lead here, it is Gary Farmer's Indian Nobody who acts as the defining character of the movie. It is he who acts as a guide to Blake and prepares him for his journey to the underworld. The film features many big names that make a brief appearance (Robert Mitchum, Gabriel Byrne and John Hurt to mention some), but their characters are developed well enough and fit perfectly into the general atmosphere of the movie.
"Dead Man" is also an initiation movie, an initiation into death. This is an artsy film, filled with symbols, a film that requires patience from the viewer and its style may not suit every taste. It is one of those movies that need to be watched with an open mind.
My rating: 7/10
The film starts like an ordinary western with accountant William Blake traveling to the town of Machine in order to take up a job. Arriving in Machine, he finds the locals to be hostile towards him and his employer Mr. Dickinson informs him that his job was given to someone else. Out of money and luck, he gets into trouble after he kills Mr. Dickinson's son, Charles, and he finds himself forced to leave town. He is found wounded and unconscious by an Indian named Nobody, who believes that he is the great poet William Blake. From this point on, the film's atmosphere and narrative style somehow dissociate from that of traditional storytelling.
"Dead Man" is filled with symbolism and there are plenty of situations where things have more than one meaning. What I found interesting is the fact that the director left certain details for the viewer's own interpretation. It is one of those films that require multiple viewings in order for the viewer to fully understand what is going on. The film has a slow pace at times, probably to emphasize on the beautiful black and white cinematography. Jim Jarmusch's movie almost has a surreal feeling to it due to the way it is photographed, the lines exchanged between the characters as well as the actions they undertake.
The movie's style is the one that makes it unique, but that may also be its weakness. There are several scenes that are perhaps a bit slow and there are moments when I felt that the director threw in too many symbols. As for the music, while I generally liked Neil Young's score, I thought that it was overused at times and it distracted the viewer from the rest of the film.
Leading man Johnny Depp is good here as usual and this is the kind of role that defined his career in the 90's. Even though Depp plays the lead here, it is Gary Farmer's Indian Nobody who acts as the defining character of the movie. It is he who acts as a guide to Blake and prepares him for his journey to the underworld. The film features many big names that make a brief appearance (Robert Mitchum, Gabriel Byrne and John Hurt to mention some), but their characters are developed well enough and fit perfectly into the general atmosphere of the movie.
"Dead Man" is also an initiation movie, an initiation into death. This is an artsy film, filled with symbols, a film that requires patience from the viewer and its style may not suit every taste. It is one of those movies that need to be watched with an open mind.
My rating: 7/10