Dead Man (1995)
Dead western walking.
Presentation:
Jarmusch deserves credit for innovating the western with this neo noir adventure, but his usual quirkiness was just dull this time around. I didn’t find the cast nor Johnny Depp interesting, which is surprising because there are actually a lot of well known stars and artists in here. Maybe if the dry jokes landed for me I would have enjoyed the characters or found them charismatic. The film is well shot with scenes that will make you pause, but overall I found it inconsistent amongst all the other tedious closeups and Depp’s blank expression. It may be sacrilege, but I found Neil Young’s electric guitar soundtrack to be annoying after a while.
Conclusion:
This should not be one of the first films you watch from Jarmusch, and definitely not before Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Sometimes no matter how good some aspects of a film are, it doesn’t matter if you’re bored. Normally Jarmusch’s slow pacing and deadpan humor work because he has a cool character we can latch onto. Depp didn’t do it for me. A cult film that will be hit or miss, this one was a definitely miss for me. I like Jarmusch’s deadpan style, but you can’t win em’ all. Too dry, even for a western.
Recommendations
Is it harder to escape from jail or each other?