Dead Man (1995)

1/5

Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man is one of the most uninteresting, meandering, meaningless movies I've seen since Truffaut's The Soft Skin. I sat there for two hours watching scenes transition to different scenes with the barest semblance of plot or purpose. The movie follows William Blake (Depp) as he makes his way from Cleveland to the West in the late 19th century. He gets mixed up in violence and must go on the run to save his life, but I think the title is meant to insinuate that he is already dead. People who like the movie will tell you it's about a man's transformation in the time of our country's transformation, but I think those people are just seeing stuff that isn't there. Or, perhaps, seeing the bits and pieces of stuff beneath all the garbage piled on top of it.

Johnny Depp kind of reminded me of Guy Pearce in this movie, and I mean that in a bad way. He has dead expressions and no depth. He sounds entirely uninterested in just about everything going on, even when he's supposed to be scared or excited. Regardless of whether his affect is intentional or not, it's simply boring and painful to watch. I don't even want to talk about the dialogue, because I'll just get upset. The script tries to be edgy and badass, but instead it's spoken by what sounds like bad student actors trying to be edgy and badass. Mix this bad acting (or bad directing, I'm honestly not sure which it is) with crappy special effects and cheesy old-time film techniques and you have an entirely laughable production. It's times like these I wish I had waited before burning an entire director's oeuvre until I knew I liked them.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112817/

Miller's Crossing (1990)

4.9/5

Miller's Crossing is exquisitely detailed, exceedingly complex, and fully realized from start to finish. Darkly comic, this crime movie set in the Prohibition-era 30's tries to be a film noir in dialogue and a gangster movie a la The Godfather in content. Instead of fitting well into either category, it ends up being a fresh blend of both. Filled with double crosses, hidden agendas, and snappy dialogue, the plot can get quite confusing at times, but never out of reach for the attentive viewer. It envelops you in its own world, where every word has meaning if you know how to hear it right. The atmosphere is so real you're breathing the same air they are. My favorite aspect of this movie, and what keeps me coming back for more, is the abundance of subtle nuances left in the background for the especially watchful to pick up on. While the movie does explain the main story, it leaves a lot of important side stories and relationships open for the audience to chew over and realize on their own, which makes it much more engaging and memorable for those watching.

Onto the technical specifics. The acting was unerringly precise from all parties. The editing was terrific, milking every shot and scene for all they're worth while still maintaining mood and environment. The script itself is so rich and multi-layered in plot alone that it could stand up to analysis from a dozen different angles and produce different results each time. The dialogue is pithy and smart, as only the Coens know how to make it, although it does sometimes feel a bit "written." And it requires a very sensitive ear and very active mind to pick up on everything.

I remembered it being prettier, and was a little disappointed seeing it again and noticing rather bland colors and flat shots. While brilliant in composition and framing, the actual execution itself was not up to my expectations. The sound design as well made it a bit difficult to hear what the characters were saying, although perhaps the accents and word choice added to that problem. The dialogue doesn't quite succeed as a 40's noir, but the fervent and dedicated attempt more than make up for it. The music felt extremely out of place, specifically the choice of the main theme and also the times at which it would crop up, almost as if by accident. Also, some of the violence was a bit too exaggerated and almost laughable, although I'm pretty sure it's intentional. Very highly recommended, for any Coen brothers fan, Byrne fan, or gangster/noir fan. I will leave you with my two favorite lines from the movie.

"Nobody knows anybody. Not that well."

--"Look in your heart, look in your heart!"
--"What heart?"

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0100150/