In 1996, when I first watched Dead Man, I had just recently changed my college major from Aerospace Engineering to Education, with a specialization in English. Of course this film was going to bring out the nerd in me because so much of what Nobody, the native man played by Gary Farmer, says to William Blake are actual words written by THE William Blake. To use a meme from the current day, every few minutes I was pointing at the screen like Leonardo Dicaprio because I recognized the quote and felt pretty damn smart and confident that I was going into the field that was a better fit for me.
Such revelations were more than I expected from a film starring Johnny Depp.
I had low expectations going into Jim Jarmusch’s film because I had absolutely no idea who the man was. I didn’t grow up around arthouse theaters and the video stores in my hometown were not in the habit of paying for films they had not heard of. I didn’t know the man had been making movies for quite some time. For me, this was just the newest movie from the guy who played Edward Scissorhands and Cry Baby. Despite excellent turns in Ed Wood and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Depp hadn’t really broken through the mainstream and this black and white western wasn’t going to do it. I knew Depp had a bit of a weird streak, but when I picked the VHS off the shelf I had to wonder why he was doing this movie.
Then I watched it.
Dead Man is not Jarmusch’s best film, not by a long shot, but it was weird enough and interesting enough that I HAD to know more about the guy. How had this man I’d never even heard of manage to corral cinematic weirdos Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen, and Michael Wincott into one film? How had he secured the legendary talents of John Hurt and Robert Freaking Mitchum? And is that punk legend Iggy Pop in a bonnet cooking over a fire? (Not to mention that was Billy Bob Thornton and Jared Harris joining him for dinner.)
If there was one thing the 90’s era of independent cinema was good for, it was giving directors that had made excellent movies for a long time a bit more distribution into the mainstream. That isn’t to say they made mainstream films, because there is nothing mainstream about Dead Man. But here it was on my video store shelf.
Dead Man is the story of an accountant, William Blake, who travels from Cleveland to Machin on the promise of a job. He doesn’t get the job and accidentally kills the son of the man who didn’t hire him. He then goes on the run with the aforementioned Nobody while bounty hunters and law men come after him. But don’t expect standoffs and shootouts. When there is violence it is quick, surprisingly uncinematic, but deadly nonetheless. Soon Blake’s journey comes to an end.
It’s a simple story, well told, beautifully shot, with very unique and interesting characters. It wasn’t going to make my best of lists for the year, but like I said, it’s the film that introduced me to Jarmusch, and for that reason it’s important. I have it to thank for discovering classics such as Down By Law, Mystery Train, and Stranger than Paradise. Without Dead Man I wouldn’t have been anxiously awaiting, and likely missed, my absolute favorite film of his, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai.
Should you watch Dead Man even if you don’t like weird black and white westerns with a good chunk of the dialogue coming from an English poet/artist from the 1700’s? I’ll leave that up to you. But if, like me, you’ve never seen a Jarmusch film, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
