Dead Man (1995)

Dead Man: Directed by Jim Jarmusch. With Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen. On the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange aboriginal American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

“First of all, you have to be a Jarmusch fan. If you walk comfortably through that door, youu0026#39;ll find he does a bang-up job with this existential Western. So does Johnny Depp, who plays the lead–a lost unemployed accountant in the old west who happens to be named William Blake. Gary Farmer, the Indian from Ghost Dog and The Score, calls himself Nobody because he doesnu0026#39;t like his given name that means u0026quot;one who talks much and says nothing.u0026quot; Nobody serves as William Blakeu0026#39;s savior, doctor, guide and boatman u0026quot;across the river.u0026quot; Neil Young wrote and performed the score. Blakeu0026#39;s nemesis is played by Lance Henriksen as a terse cannibalistic bounty hunter. Delightful cameos include Robert Mitchum, Crispin Glover, Gabriel Byrne, John Heard and others.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSymbolism abounds–there are shooting stars, down-shots of a hellish factory where Blake wanders looking for a way out, mines and factories of u0026quot;white-manu0026#39;s metal,u0026quot; plenty of dead animals, including a small doe that Depp lies down with after decorating his face with its blood.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the movie doesnu0026#39;t fall into the trap of making white men the fall guys for everything wrong with the world in which Blake and Nobody try to make a living. Nobody mistreats Blakeu0026#39;s bullet wound and is arguably responsible for his ultimate predicament. Nobody isnu0026#39;t worldly, despite having seen Europe in his youth. He believes the same white people were in every town he visited. The northwest tribe visited at the end were petty people who obviously thought Blake and Nobody were not worth their attention, evidenced by Nobodyu0026#39;s imprecations to u0026quot;walk proudu0026quot; to the mortally-wounded Blake, and his nervousness at what might happen if he didnu0026#39;t. And of course, there is Nobodyu0026#39;s innocent belief that the hapless accountant is the historical poet and artist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHeld together with Youngu0026#39;s musical score–mixed a tad loud for my taste–and the deterioration of the finances and health of William Blake, Dead Man is more than a picaresque, but the overall theme is elusive. Motifs are another story, and are liberally sprinkled throughout. Perhaps thatu0026#39;s the point, ultimately–in the face of death, nothing else matters, and all the symbols and themes add up to nothing, driving the story from existential to nihilistic. Personal friendship, religion, wealth, work, technology, tribe, humanity, God, love–all mean nothing or are actively detrimental. For a movie named u0026quot;Dead Man,u0026quot; thatu0026#39;s not an unreasonable interpretation.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDepp is an ideal actor to portray the reluctant gunslinger, and his personality does more to hold the film together than any other single factor. The camera loves him, and his ability to portray a variety of responses to his predicaments, from confusion, surprise and anger to amusement, disappointment and ultimately resignation is the heart of this thoroughly enjoyable film.”