Dead Man (1995) Review

Or, are we dead yet?

You can find the trailer here.

I had never heard of Dead Man (1995) and I am amazed such a film has managed to slip under so many people's radars.

Here is your IMDB synopsis;

Dead Man is the story of a young man's journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named "Nobody," who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody's help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living. It is as though he passes through the surface of a mirror, and emerges into a previously-unknown world that exists on the other side.

Again, there will be swearing and there will be spoilers.

I'm going to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) and talk about the opening sequence which I truly adored. Well, 'adored' is a weird word choice, I really liked it in an frustrated, monotonous way!  

Dead Man opens in full, grainy, 1930s black and white, with Johnny Depp sat on a train, clutching his briefcase for dear life and wearing what I can only describe as a period clown suit. Shots of him in dead silence, eyeing up the unsavoury types sharing the ride with him are constantly interspliced with scenes of the smoky, dirty train outside as it speeds along. 

The foley is key here. The way it keeps constantly switching from this intolerable din outside to this tedious, unbearable silence within the carriage keeps you constantly on edge. It genuinely feels like the longest train journey ever!

This sequence very much sets the tone of the editing throughout the rest of Director Jim Jarmusch's film. Dead Man constantly switches from brief sweeping establishing shots, to fades to black, to short, seemingly pointless dialogue, back to fade to black. These edits and snap shots not only give a perspective on the sheer length of the journey, but make you feel as if you are constantly slipping in and out of consciousness and into a world that you can never be quite sure is real or not.

The Death of Blake

Every night and every morn, some to misery are born. Every morn and every night, some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to sweet delight; some are born to endless night.

In fact, questions of the reality of the narrative are the most prominent feature of Dead Man. This is a film made to be discussed, and none of the questions are more pressing than those of the main character's mortality. The more the film progresses the clearer it is that William Blake (Depp) has been dead for quite some time. Many say he died the moment Charlie Dickinson shot him after Blake bedded his ex-fiancie Thel Russel. However, I think he passed on long before that. In fact, I think the circumstances of his death are never shown, and we are instead introduced to Blake the moment his heart stops beating. 

If you think back to the first lines said by the deliciously creepy Crispin Glover, the original 80s ageless man, the man who played the father to someone three years his senior, the legend, the madman.... I've digressed somehow into Top Gear (TV 2002) territory here.... Anyway, the very first lines are referring to the very end, when Johnny Depp 'dies' in the boat;

Train Fireman: Look out the window. And doesn't this remind you of when you were in the boat, and then later than night, you were lying, looking up at the ceiling, and the water in your head was not dissimilar from the landscape, and you think to yourself, "Why is it that the landscape is moving, but the boat is still?"

I got the impression that Blake may have killed himself after the death of both his parents, and when his fiancé decided she didn't want to marry him any more. Though I cannot tell if the engagement was broken off by his death or not. Blake seems to look almost guilty as he speaks about his fiancé and insists she didn't leave him for another man.

There are so many clues and subtle hints to his death throughout. Dead Man seems to be one of those films that you could watch a million times and still find more. Here were some of my favourite ideas to ponder on;

His last coins - Blake states that he spent his last coins on the journey there. Could this be a reference to the custom of leaving the deceased's last two coins upon their eyes to pay the boatman on the river Styx?

White paper roses - Also, Thel offers him white roses she has made of paper, and Blake carries a single one into the wilderness with him. White roses are more traditionally associated with funerals and the passing of a loved one. Further, the fact they are made of paper makes them appear crisp and old, as if he has been dead for some time and the flowers are decaying on his grave. 

Dressing to meet his maker - Finally, his suit. Blake looks as if he has been 'dressed up' in the outfit. I'm probably reading far too much into this, (as I probably have all the above!) but it seems as though he may have been 'put' in the suit, perhaps being dressed for burial. 

Plus, you mean to tell me that Blake imparts on a ridiculously long train journey from Cleveland in the far East of America, to the 'end of the line' in the wild, wild West, which would take three nights without stopping in this day and age, in a carriage with nowhere to lie down for a sleep, and yet he chooses to travel and sleep the whole way in the clothing he intends to meet his new employer in? Wouldn't you change into your work suit on arrival? He has his whole life packed into that suitcase, (we assume, I can't remember actually seeing in it. Maybe it's the briefcase from Pulp Fiction (1994)) so surely he has at least a single change of clothes?

These were just some of the thoughts I puzzled over once the credits started rolling and there are many more. That is half of the fun of this film, and the main reason I hugely regret watching it alone. This is a film designed to be discussed afterwards. However, I don't think when Blake died is the real issue. It was obvious that was meant to be the main talking point, but the main things you need to look at are the little nuances along the way, not where it began or ended. After all, a road movie isn't about the destination, but the journey.

A man went looking for America. And couldn't find it anywhere...
Whatever you read from this, whenever you believe Blake actually shuffled off this mortal coil, it becomes clear that the story of Dead Man then, is less a grapple for Blake's life but a fight for his soul. It is a road movie into the afterworld with Nobody (Gary Farmer) is his guide. You see many battles along the way, the battles that America has to fight to keep its own soul; against corrupt, greedy fat cats, the corrupt law, an even more corrupt religion and a constant crisis in identity. Ultimately it is only by finding the old soul of America in Nobody that Blake can find his salvation. 

The hellish town of Machine represents an America that acts as if it has no history. As if it is new. This is the 'American dream', where they can wipe the slate clean and find their fortune through hard work and industry.  It is clear though that the dream has quickly become a nightmare.

American itself has the history and culture of the Native Americans, and the Colonial Americans have all the combined history of the European colonists. You cannot erase a past and culture. It is no coincidence that Nobody is a tribeless, and thus in the world of Dead Man therefore a general representative, Native American, with an English education and a strong affinity for the English poet and painter William Blake. He represents all those things which America seems to have forgotten, or be hoping to erase in Jarmusch's nightmarish world. Along the journey we constantly see evidence of destroyed Native American villages, and burned corpses and Nobody says to Blake 'It is strange that you do not remember any of your poetry, William Blake.'

A Butterfly Upon the Corporate Wheel

It is clear from the moment Blake enters Machine, that industry is not a favourite of Jarmusch. The place is a nefarious rabbit warren of sweating bodies and unbearable heat and noise. He resents its position as the facilitator of the American dream, and he represents those who have capitalised on it even more.

As the train pulls into the station, a sign quickly lets us know that Machine is the 'home of Dickinson Steel/Works' and this is where our hero has been promised a job as an accountant. However, any promise of Blake's American dream is shattered when he discovers he is a month late for his post, and after meeting with the owner John Dickinson, is told that 'the only job you're goin' to get is pushing up daisies from a pine box.'

If Machine is Hell (and it certainly is) then Dickinson is quickly established as the devil. And when Blake is forced to go on the run after he kills Dickinson's son Charlie, (because Charlie shoots him first may I just say, and kills our short lived heroine) , he soon finds he has invoked his full wrath and power. Though in all honestly, Devilson seems to be a lot more preoccupied with the theft of his horse than his dearly departed heir. (When you are the immortal gatekeeper of the Underworld I guess you don't need an heir. Horses however...maybe he was a big dressage fan?)

If Devilson is indeed the devil, then his three bounty hunters he sends in pursuit are practically his Hell Hounds, and they represent an interesting play on an old trope. The equivalent of See no Evil (Johnny 'The Kid' Pickett, who is too young to see what is happening), Hear No Evil (Conway Twill, who won't shut up long enough to listen, and Speak No Evil (Cole Wilson, who hardly talks but is the worst of the lot, and the only one to survive by the end of it. A man so mean 'He fucked his parents...Mother. Father. Parents. Both of 'em. Fucked 'em...And then he ate 'em.')

Intro to the Bounty Hunters. They were even kind enough to sit in order for me:
See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil

They even have distinguishing features to highlight the conceit, 'The Kid' has a scar across his eye affecting his vision, Conway has long thick hair which covers his ears, and finally Cole has shining metallic teeth, impairing his speech.

The Bounty Hunters represent a hint at another strong theme through the film. Religion. It seems almost a dig, that you cannot act as if you are above evil by pretending that it doesn't exist.

Religion

It's clear that Jarmusch doesn't object to religion per se. The entire concept of the film is completely spiritual. Though he does seem to object to having a set religion forced upon him as the continent of America did. The 'white mans' religion is cold, and calculated and wrong and is only interested in currency and oppressing the old soul of America.

This is all epitomised in the Trading Post Missionary, brilliantly played by my old favourite Alfred Molina. He claims to be a man of God, and yet he is contaminating blankets with small pox for distribution amongst the Native American population. He refuses to serve Nobody at all just from a glance to which he retorts with this cracker of a line from William Blake's poetry, which wonderfully sums up Jarmusch's stance;

The vision of Christ that thou dost see, is my vision's greatest enemy.

There is also a moment where the bounty hunters come across the corpse of a marshal that Blake had killed earlier, with his head crowned by a circle of wood (I think left over from Blake's campfire? I don't really remember) and Cole Wilson (Hear No Evil) says; 'Looks like a goddamn religious icon!' Alluding to how easy it is to dress someone up as a saint or a martyr under a religious context.

The Law

The final objection Jarmusch throws up which I will talk about here, is that to American law. Right at the very beginning there is a remark about American gun culture and how Americans are able to take the law and justice into their own hands. After Blake spends the night with Thel he reaches under the pillow to find a colt. He is visibly surprised and unnerved, but Thel seems to be completely blasé about it;

Thel Russell: Watch it. It's loaded.
William Blake: Why do you have this?
Thel Russell: (Shrugs) Because this is America.

Later, when Blake is fully established as a genuine outlaw (what is an outlaw to hell exactly?) he comes across two law men, a bizarre Americanised version of Thomson and Thompson, the bumbling twin detectives from The Adventures of Tintin (TV 1991). These men however are much less interested in upholding the law, than the reward Devilson has offered for his capture.

Marshall & Marshal and Thompson & Thomson

This is completely irralivant to my point but one of my favourite lines comes here, when Blake comes upon the two Marshalls;

Marvin (Older Marshall): You William Blake?
William Blake: Yes, I am. Do you know my poetry?

And then he shoots them both down, in one shot each, despite the fact Nobody has ran off with his glasses. (FYI, my other favourite quote was 'Don't let the sun burn a hole in your ass, William Blake.' Just made me chuckle!)

Random Shout Out
Just want to mention the cameos in this film. They were done in that perfect way which Wes Anderson does it, where you constantly second guess whether it was actually them or not. Often it's just a voice you know but can't quite place. I won't mention who they are, as that will ruin the Where's Wally (or Waldo if you're one of those American or Canadian folk) aspect of it (hey, I know I've ruined the whole plot for you by now, but why would I spoil a completely pointless random gimmick?!)

Conclusion
Just an absolutely brilliant bit of filmmaking. After watching I realised I have never seen a Jim Jarmusch film before but he seems like he could be a real Auteur. (Of course this is a brash generalisation and I would need to watch a fair few more of his films to really make a judgement!) I don't usually subscribe to Auteur theory as a general rule (a film is a sum of a a multitude of parts and personalities, I don't generally believe in attributing it all to the director, though there are obvious cases such as Hitchcock or Burton which you cannot argue).

Watch it, but watch it with a group of friends. Then go down to your local diner and get a giant milkshake with twenty straws and gossip about it, or whatever it is you crazy kids do these days!

I prepared your canoe with cedarboughs. It's time for you to leave now, William Blake. Time for you to go back where you came from....Back to the place where all the spirits came from, and where all the spirits return. This world will no longer concern you.

BONUS JIM JARMUSCH!!!
That's your prize for sitting through
the whole of this review. Yeah, it's a
sucky prize. Bite me,