Dead Again

source: Dead Again

I really wanted to like this film. It has great credentials: a mystery story set in LA, elements of the supernatural, eminent cast. What a disappointment. The plot is convoluted, the acting is overwrought (Branagh and Thompson affecting fake American accents, Andy Garcia trying to be a hardboiled newspaper man with a smoking problem) and the whole thing is tedious and dull, despite attempts by the oppressive soundtrack to keep viewers awake. The plot twists fail to enliven this mess; they only add to the incredulity of it all. Some examples: what was the point of Campbell Scott's and Robin Williams' characters? Skip this one.

Well, I guess it's not really "karmic" revenge. It's just plain revenge behind the murder. Whoever wrote this piece of confusing comic/mystery/melodrama was channeling Madame Blavatsky, who apparently emerges from time to time from behind the veil of Isis. There was a scissors murder in 1948. A composer (Branagh) was executed for the murder of his wife (Thompson). Somehow, a reporter (Garcia) seems to have been involved but he's just a red herring. Forget him. Anyway, it's now forty years later, 1988 that is, and Emma Thompson is an amnesiac taken in by Branagh because she has no identity and nowhere to go. A hypnotist and antique dealer insinuates his way into the relationship that, as the sophisticated viewer will have already guessed, has turned physically demonstrative. The hypnotist age regresses Thompson and she begins reliving the 1948 case in which she was the victim. Branagh, a fundamentally decent guy, consults Robin Williams, an ex shrink who now runs a Carniceria. (This is Los Angeles.) Williams explains all about karma to Branagh and advises him to kill Thompson before she kills him. The two are reliving the 1948 murder only the genders are reversed. But Williams is a red herring too. The whole business about karma is a red herring. And at the end, when the villain tries to murder Thompson with a pair of antique scissors -- hint, hint -- that's a lot of baloney too because Thompson has no connection with the earlier murder, as far as it's possible to tell. She just happens to be a lady who lost her memory and came up with these weird stories under hypnosis. What a fine cast. Kenneth Branagh looks young and innocent but isn't really convincing in this relatively light part. I haven't seen his renditions of Shakespeare. Emma Thompson is a splendid actress and looks very appealing without being in the least sultry and certainly not Hollywood gorgeous. She has the open, wide-eyed, innocent features of a loving pet dog, some kind of miniature. Not a poodle, though. More like a happy-go-lucky terrier, one of those pets that's always wagging its tail and has its tongue hanging out of its mouth, maybe poised and hoping you'll toss a tennis ball. Andy Garcia has sleek features, is an underused performer, and should choose his parts more carefully. All of them live in those pretentious mansions of Southern California except for Jacobi and his dear mother, who are consigned to one of those cluttered little spaces out of Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop." If anyone can make sense out of this underlighted mish mosh, will he please let me know? I need some hints too, you know.

Dead Again is a hammy name for a melodramatic farce. I never would have rented it, but I saw its trailer on another video and thought it looked interesting. That it is, but I found myself losing interest and faith in the last half-hour. (I will not reveal it, for there IS a good plot twist leading up to it.) Dead Again sports many familiar faces: Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (real life husband-and-wife), Wayne Knight (Newman in a reincarnation flick??!), and even Robin Williams (who knew?) Branagh is especially charming as Roman--his meeting with pianist Margaret while madly directing the symphony is memorable. But although Dead Again serves up some very inventive, creative moments, the final scene was hideously overdone and much too melodramatic. The slow motion sequences never settle well with me, and here they only highlighted the incredulity. However, Roger Ebert gave Dead Again four stars, so many people will enjoy it. I did, up until that unbelievable finale. Afterwards I did get to thinking (and I say a movie is only good if it makes you think.) So if "fate" really determines who we meet, who we will spend eternity with, and we DO have multiple incarnations, then that creep who followed me around downtown last week will keep coming back, and back....and back.....???

Paradoxically manages to be completely improbable yet totally predictable. If you can't figure out who the villain is or what's going to happen with that dangerous piece of artwork, you don't know much about foreshadowing or moviemaking. To be avoided.

This was the first movie I saw with Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson and I loved their on-screen chemistry. LOVED the movie! If you have not seen it, rent it. I had never heard of it and rented it. Lots of plot twists and the love story is unique. I felt very connected to the characters - good character development. Fun little mystery, too.

I found a number of both good and bad things about this film, but that's because of my beliefs. Overall, most people, I think, would enjoy this. Here's a few brief comments, which I don't except will be well-received, but..... The GOOD - It's always a treat to see Emma Thompson on the silver screen, especially when she plays her '40s "Margaret" character in this film. The most interesting character in here, though, is her real-life husband (at that time), Kenneth Branagh. Lots of tension in this movie, too, that keeps your attention. THE BAD - The story centers around a total belief in re-incarnation, doing everything it can to validate those beliefs. Also, there are a few major holes in the story and there's a corny ending, action-wise.

Kenneth Branagh's second work as a director is a very lukewarm effort. The main problem lies with the flawed story but the movie has got a rather cheap and dated look, too. The script is full of plot holes, forced mysteries, riddles that are thrown in to keep the viewer puzzled but don't really make any sense at all. It also seems rather goofy how quickly the concept of reincarnation and karma is accepted as a fact by virtually everyone in the movie. The relations of the individual characters are also far fetched and don't really make any sense. Up to the showdown with it's unintentionally funny and over the top slow motion ballyhoo, "Dead Again" never manages to grip the viewer. The occasional funny elements don't help, either. Is this a comedy, a drama, a romance or a mystery? "Dead Again" seems more like a parody at times with it's goofy black and white story lines in the past. It's a failed attempt at paying tribute to Hitchcock and the whole film noir genre. "Dead Again" proved that Branagh might be a master when it comes to bringing Shakespeare to the screen, but he has no idea what mainstream cinema is about.

I just finished watching "Dead Again" for the second time, and I really dig it. It's a well-made thriller, and Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were always great together. It has an interesting story, a couple of good jump moments, and good supporting performances from Robin Williams and whatshisname who played Newman on "Seinfeld". The Hitchcock homage isn't overdone, and there are some nicely-placed visual clues (although one of them is far too obvious, the others are more subtle), as well as little references to other films the actors have been in before. Derek Jacobi is soooo good at being slimy, and the entire end sequence is tense and well-edited. That said, the big twist toward the end of the movie does poke a couple of plot holes, and causes some real loss of tension at the end of the movie- placing the big revelation much closer to the end might have made a big difference in the division of opinions about this movie. Either way, it's pretty enjoyable- well worth renting on a rainy night.

So you know, I own this movie in both VHS and DVD format. I lend out my VHS to anyone I can get to watch this movie. I have seen many of Kenneth's movies, for me this is his best. Many others easily come to mind that are fantastic, but for me the two story lines and the mixing together of the two is incredible. It is different, I was spellbound from the suspense most of the movie. I wanted it to end so I could know if everything works out, but then wanted it to go on and on. If you like suspense, this movie is for you. The language is a little on the strong side at times, but not too much and appropriate to the characters and story.