When Bill Blake (Johnny Depp) alights from the train after a lengthy journey that takes him to the dusty backwater of Machine, he thinks he is arriving to commence a new job. What he doesn’t think, is that he will soon be on the run across country, away from pursuant hired guns, accompanied by an especially talkative native American named Nobody and forced to do things he never dreamed possible.
He probably also didn’t think he would have to put up with the occasional staccato guitar riff that was two times louder than any of the dialogue in this film…
Director Jim Jarmausch has crafted a journey of personal discovery with flair but little flash. The film is shot in black and white and has long silent sequences (but for that screechy guitar), with sporadic violence and a huge cast of big names all relishing the chance to play dress ups and indulge in an ‘art film’, whether their roles are two minutes or twenty-two.
Depp remains stoic and understated throughout – this was before his ascension to super-star pirate – and the film continues moving at its own pace, even if it seems to be moving to nowhere special.
I cannot deny that as a two hour experience Dead Man is undeniably haunting and poetic, I might also point out that it has never been my decision to willingly sit through a two hour poem…
Final Rating – 6 / 10. Of course I acknowledge the right of others to pretend this is more captivating than it is in order to appear far more discerning and worthy of the awe of lesser beings.
