Dead Man

Starring: Johnny Depp, Gabriel Byrne, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Billy Bob Thornton, John Hurt, Alfred Molina, Lance Henriksen, Michae Wincott, Robert Mitchum
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Rating: R
Genre: Western
Box Office: $1,037,847
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Johnny Depp) travels from Cleveland to a small town in the West because he was promised a job. Upon arriving there, no job is available. He gets caught in a love triangle and is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. He escapes the town and befriends a strange Indian who acts as a guide and mentor to him.

Review:

Tim: Dead Man is an interesting if not good film by Jim Jarmusch. The film cuts in and out of scenes, giving the film a slower paced feel. We only get snippets of each scene, and then it fades to black before the next one begins. This makes the movie feel like it is individual scenes all strung together perfectly to form a story, rather than a strictly linear story path. Or, it feels as if we're only given glimpses of the story instead of the entire thing. The film being completely in black and white adds a further interesting feel to it. Unfortunately, this is about the end of the positive aspects of the movie.

The story itself is confusing and strange. It is at times entertaining, but mostly slow and boring. Dead Man is less about a good story and more about making an original and unique film.

Johnny Depp is pretty decent in the starring role, although he seems a bit out of place and confused. His performance isn't spectacular, but decent enough to carry us through the film with him.

The movie boasts a great supporting cast all wasted in small, meaningless roles. None of them are particularly worth mentioning, save for perhaps a small role by Alfred Molina. None of the rest of the supporting cast adds or detracts from the film. They offer nothing.

Dead Man is a pretty amazing film to look at, but only less than decent to watch.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Edward Scissorhands, Cape Fear, The Usual Suspects