Dead Again

Trying to work à la Hitchcock is a very perilous task:Kenneth Branagh walks out with honors.The numerous influences and nods are interesting:"Notorious" "Rebecca" "Spellbound" "Vertigo""dial M for murder" come to mind but there are certainly more...Brannagh is a pupil who assimilates things easily.He's helped by a stellar cast:his then-wife Emma Thompson,really beautiful,Hanna Shygulla ,in an underwritten part ,Robin Williams,Campbell Scott,Andy Garcia -You want to stop smoking?Have a look at his last scene!-.... The marvelously far-fetched plot grabs the audience till the very end as the two stories meet.Brannagh and Thompson succeeded in creating two characters each .The director cleverly uses in turn color (present) and black and white (past).The finale in the flat where the amnesic girl keeps her surrealist works (a la Dali,like in "spellbound" ) is grand guignol at its best.That's entertainment!

Dead Again is categorized as Mystery / Romance / Thriller and it does very well in all three categories. It begins as a mystery, develops into a romance and ends up very thrilling. It is also Gothic, film noir, sometimes melodramatic and often humorous: an unusual mix that really works. The opening credits show 1948 news stories about symphony conductor, Roman Strauss (Kenneth Branagh), who was executed for murdering his wife, Margaret (Emma Thompson). The film was in Black and White. Then the film switches to the present and to colour and we find Emma Thompson in a Catholics boys' home, mute and suffering from nightmares and amnesia. The priest in charge elicits free help from Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh), a private detective who specializes in missing persons and was brought up in that home. "Grace" (a name that she and Mike use because she does not know her real name) ends up staying with Mike while he tries to sort things out. An advertisement brings Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi), who offers to discover her past through hypnotic regression. He ends up regressing her into a past life. At this point, if one does not believe in reincarnation, as Mike Church did not, then one can add Fantasy to the list of the film's categories; it does very well in that category also.

As fate would have it, Mike and Grace grow closer and fall in love, an event that is undoubtedly made more convincing by the fact that Branagh and Watson were happily married at the time that the film was made. The style of the modern romance contrasts with the melodrama of the 1940's marriage, in which Roman gives Margaret an anklet and says, "The man I bought it from explained to me that when a husband gives this to his wife, they become two halves of the same person. Nothing can separate them, not even death." That idea helped to clarify the most surprising plot twist of all, one that is disclosed visually. The plot is one of the cleverest mystery plots that I have witnessed. One is never sure of what to think. Did Roman kill Margaret? If not then who did? Many look suspicious. What is the relationship between the past lovers, Roman and Margaret, and the present lovers, Mike and Grace? The plot has many twists and turns, all of which appear to be realistic. Clues drop like rain. There are many strong roles and the acting is excellent throughout. Many actors have roles in both stories.

I didn't catch this one until it hit a discount theatre in Miami Beach, but I'm glad I did. Whatever the status of Branagh and Thompson's relationship at the time, they project a fantastic chemistry as lovers karmically doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, or so we are led to believe. Branagh has a fantastic directorial sense, honed in his years with Shakespearian theatre, and the intertwining of black-and white and colour footage to evoke different time periods works to great effect. Supporting players Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams, and Andy Garcia put in excellent performances, and the serviceable plot is made transcendant by this fine group of actors. Although some of the gore is a bit heavy, it doesn't overwhelm the story, something Branagh learned no doubt from the films of Alfred Hitchcock, and like the works of Hitchcock, even after the mystery is finally sorted out, the film continues to reward with repeat viewings. So, if the last copy of Blair Witch is out, and you're looking for a bit of suspense that isn't all blood and guts, give this one a try. You'll feel enlightened.

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.

This movie is one of the unappreciated jewels of the 1990's, a film done so well that virtually every aspect, from script to direction to performances to music to editing, sweeps you away. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (who were then married)each played two roles, one in the past, one in the present, with different clothes, hairstyles and accents, as part of a couple destined to be together forever.

Branagh, coming off his rookie directing debut in HENRY V, did a simply beautiful job here, using the same creative team as HV (Patrick Doyle deserves especial kudos for his astounding musical score). Playing both a cynical private eye ("I'm not looking for Miss Right; I'm looking for Miss Right Now") and a jealous German composer from the 1940's, he turns in two complete portraits of unusual men, while directing as well.

The film didn't stay in theaters long (most likely due to studio politics), but has apparently found a new audience on video. I've loved it since the first time I saw it, in its first run (I admit to seeing it five times in the theater and buying it on video the day it came out) -- so I may be slightly prejudiced -- but from every angle -- thriller, love story, character study -- it's a winner. See it on DVD and hear Branagh's comments on various aspects of the film -- that adds another dimension right there.

In fact, see it any way you can. It's just marvelous.