DEAD AGAIN
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Two murder mysteries tied together by
reincarnation. A great deal of tension is created, but the
solution of the mystery is not too surprising and an action
sequence toward the end is just not up to the style of the
rest of the film. There is a great product placement,
however. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4).
When a little-known filmmaker has a film that makes it really big, it is interesting to see what he or she does with that success. What is the next film like? When suddenly a filmmaker is respected and has a little more freedom, what does s/he do for an encore? A little-known George Lucas had a big hit with AMERICAN GRAFFITI; his next project was to bring comic- book space opera in a way that did not suffer in the transition. That was a success. Spike Lee's first post-success project was the disappointing SCHOOL DAZE. Kenneth Branagh, the director and star of the very successful HENRY V, has returned with a very stylish mystery and supernatural thriller with a dream cast. Branagh stars with his somewhat less well known wife, Emma Thompson. But also on hand in smaller roles are Derek Jacobi, Andy Garcia, Robin Williams, and European actress Hanna Schygulla (of THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN and BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ). This is an oddly matched collected of actors and the screenplay hardly gives them all a chance to make contributions commensurate with their talents.
A nameless, voiceless woman (played by Thompson) shows up at a church school. She has been given sanctuary for a few days, but when she starts having screaming nightmares, the school asks a detective who is a former student (played by Branagh) to help find out who the woman really is. The search is heading nowhere when Franklyn Madson shows up. (Madson played by Jacobi) is a furniture dealer with a talent for hypnotism. He offers his services to put the mystery woman in a trance and help her to remember her previous life. And what she remembers is indeed a previous life, a life in which she was someone else. It was a life that concluded in a famous murder case of 1949. What is more, there are indications that her detective friend may be a reincarnation who was also involved in the same murder. In the past lives a composer and his wife (also played by Branagh and Thompson) have marriage problems that end in the wife murdered and the husband executed. At this point, the uncertainties start to pile up. The reincarnation may or may not be authentic. Roman Strauss, the composer, may or may not have been the murderer. And, most disturbing, the events may or may not be fated to happen again, or perhaps the murder will go in the other direction as a sort of karmic revenge. The film has a complex plot and leaves unanswered the biggest question: does the film really make sense or not? Does the ending really explain all we have seen? Like JACOB'S LADDER, most of what you can get out of this film you get thinking about it afterwards.
The photography is stylishly done, particularly in the scenes set in 1949. They are done in monochrome, but the blacks and whites are just slightly tinted. At least that is the style element easy to identify. And the credits intercut with newspaper clippings about the murder opens the film with a feel almost like that of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS.
Oh, one more thing. The best touch in this film is the product placement. This film *does* have a product placement. And as it happens it is the best product placement you will see in a film this year. It kind of makes up for all the bad product placements we have had this summer.
Overall the production values and the acting talent are better than the story. And the story is better than it seems at the end of the film. I would still give DEAD AGAIN only a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. With this cast it should have been better.
Mark R. Leeper
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