Dick Johnson Is Dead

Dying is about the deadliest topic in any medium partly because it reminds us of our last end, or as Alexander Pope said, "Send not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." An accomplished documentarian, Kirsten Johnson, takes that topic and makes it a sweet future as she orchestrates scenarios for her father's death with him starring while alive in Dick Johnson is Dead.

It is as if she believes that playing with a bit of gallows humor might at least stave off the Alzheimer's disease for her dad that her mother succumbed to a few years ago. The magic part of this unusual documentary is the love of father and daughter evident in every light-hearted scene. Be he knocked dead by a construction beam or actually experience a heart attack, she and he are collaborating on this doc as professionals (he is a psychiatrist) who know enough about life to make death an acceptable adjunct to a life that was worth living.

Dick Johnson is not much as an actor depicting his own death, but he is a father who has loved his child, his late wife, and his friends, of which he has a multitude. His love shines through in each frame making this the most realistic fictionalized death on film this year (and most likely the only one).

My other favorite doc this year is David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, which also defeats the death of earth through our own collaboration with Nature. In both films, life is affirmed in the face of daunting realities such as our responsibility for choking the atmosphere or just living till we die.

Kirstin's loving handling of a potentially crippling topic is a tribute to her as an accomplished filmmaker who can create in the face of heavy emotional weight. It is even more a tribute to her as a daughter who loves her father unconditionally and forever-a state she uses to keep her dad in her mind forever.

"Because I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me." Emily Dickinson

Thanks to my daughter, Thea, who tipped me off to this exceptional doc-we share several sympathies with the film.

A thoughtful and heartfelt way to present the inherent aspect of life that is death

It's rare that a movie with so much good stuff in it is also quite frustrating.

At the risk of going on too long: the main problem for me was the tone. The darkly comedic fantasy sequences never quite meshed with the far more effective (and more frequent) parts of the film that nakedly deal with the inevitability of death, and the immense struggles of aging. There was one fantasy sequence which was surprising moving in a really surreal way, until it clunkily featured an intentionally jarring gag, and I was pulled right out of feeling something profound.

I just... wasn't on this movie's level- I could tell I really liked it, and almost felt like I could love it, but it never sat 100% right with me. The whole premise of killing him in make believe ways never seemed to gel with the genuine emotions of the more down to earth stuff, and it left me a bit confused. There was surely an intent and a purpose, but it's one I can't grasp.

I know there's something here I'm missing, and the stuff I got I know I really liked, so I can still say it's a good movie for sure. But it's almost like I'm missing a part of my brain that would enable me to fully "get" this movie, y'know? Almost as confusing for me as I'm Thinking of Ending Things was 😅

I rated this an 8 because, while it's not the world's best documentary, it is completely original, and thought-provoking despite its seeming simplicity. You'll fall in love with Dick Johnson as soon as you meet him, with his childlike, wide-open smile and merry eyes. That love only deepens throughout this funny and awe-inspiring film (for me, especially in the sneak-peeks into the filmmaking process, including the practice of various stuntmen hired to simulate Dick's deaths). The use of color is also highly entertaining, and the voice-over narration by the filmmaker (Dick's daughter) is concise and intelligent without being condescending to the viewer or mawkish about her dread of her father's decline and eventual demise. This film asks viewers how we'll all cope with the passing of a beloved parent, and prepare for our own unknown end.

To help her dad (and herself) cope with his declining health and eventual death, a woman stages fake accidents that kill her father. They're all fake, of course. They play to laughs, and inspire the title of the film, but they're really only a small aspect of the film on the whole. The story mostly focuses on their relationship and shows how special Dick Johnson is as a father, a grandfather, and a human being. He is lovable, hilarious, and perpetually happy. Everyone loves this man. You'll love him too. And you'll love this movie. It's an incredibly nuanced and intelligent examination of death, but it wisely disguises itself as a comedy so viewers can watch without openly weeping the entire time. In the end, you'll still cry, but you'll smile too.