Dead Again (1991)

Scissors. Scissors. Scissors. Yes. Indeed - Scissors!.... So phallic (?). And, yet, so suggestively female (?), as well.... And, believe me - Actual penetration can be oh-so deadly! Slick. Glossy. Intense. Intriguing - (There's no denying it) - Dead Again was (most definitely) all of these things. But, alas, by the time that the ending rolled around, this film somehow failed to satisfy this viewer as being a genuine Thriller geared to the intellect..... Needless to say, though, Dead Again was an unusually constructed Suspense/Drama, if nothing else.And, yet, regardless of being a well-crafted and highly-stylized film production (with shades of "Hitchcock" thrown in for good measure) - Dead Again's basic story-line was ultimately just too-too dense, and, yes, just too-too artificial, to actually achieve its overall magic to its anticipated potential."Dead Again" trivia - Upon its initial release back in 1991, this film remained the absolute #1 movie at the box-office, all across the nation and beyond, for 3 solid weeks running.

"Dead Again" slipped under the radar in the early 1990s, and since then its director and star Kenneth Branagh has become somewhat of a controversial figure, primarily for the (over?)ambitious nature of the projects he tackles. This "smaller" but still audacious early effort is worthy of re-discovery: the script is cleverly twisted, tightly constructed and has a sense of humor, the direction is measured and balanced, the casting is expert (has Emma Thomson ever been more gorgeous, and more casual, than in the present-day sections of this movie? Also, Derek Jacobi is perfect and Robin Williams' cameo appearances are hilarious), the music score is lush and extravagant, and the payoff is satisfying. Perhaps you can find small faults here and there, but they don't seem to matter in the larger picture. *** out of 4.

A woman known as Grace (Emma Thompson) suffers recurring visions of someone killing a woman. Grace is suffering from amnesia and is in a catatonic state whereby she only speaks when she yells things out in her sleep. Grace is released in to the care of private eye Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) who attempts to try and piece Grace's life back together and attempts to get to the bottom of who Grace is and also why she is having these strange visions. Church gets some unexpected help from antiques dealer and hypnotist Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi). Through a series of hypnosis sessions, Grace starts to re-discover her past life, but forming these memories again comes at a cost...Dead Again has a very impressive opening few minutes; the credits showing various tabloid articles and then the opening scene with Roman Strauss (also Kenneth Branagh) and news reporter Gray Baker (Andy Garcia) was quite chilling and it also allowed Branagh to be Hannibal Lecter for a few minutes.Once the impressive opener is out of the way, the film takes a rather slow-burning approach in developing its story. Yes it is a slow film, but it's not a film that I found boring. As with any good mystery film, all the building blocks are put in place and every scene gradually adds another piece to the puzzle. As a whole, the story is engaging, suspenseful and unpredictable and I must admit for the most part I was interested in how the events were unfolding and in which direction the story was going to take. All these elements are what make the film worth watching. However...I have to admit to being taken surprise by the turn of events later in the film specifically with regards to the idea that both Roman and Margaret had been reincarnated. I mean sure there had to be some link back to their past, but this was not what I was expecting. It becomes even more ludicrous when we learn that they've been reincarnated as different genders. It's one of those twists where I praise it because of how much it surprised me, but also one that I want to condemn for being so ludicrous. However, I'm leaning more towards being positive about because it's a rather unique twist and because it did surprise me. The issue I had with this twist is that it felt like screenwriter Scott Frank was trying to force his own beliefs on to his audience. It isn't implied here that they have been reincarnated or even suggested, but we're actually told that they have been reincarnated. To me, forcing such an agenda on people based on a concept which is merely a myth or superstition is arrogant and rather silly. Don't get me wrong I'm all for exploring the concept of reincarnation and I'm all for getting people thinking about it, but to make believe that it is real is misleading to say the least. It's heavy-handedness like this that brings the film down slightly which is a shame because it is very effective in almost every other area.Despite the heavy-handed and questionable reincarnation twist, the film does get a lot of praise from me for having an involving, suspenseful and unpredictable storyline. Many of the performances here help make the picture enjoyable and the likes of Branagh, Jacobi and Thompson were all excellent - although I only found Branagh compelling as Roman Strauss and didn't think he was as good in his role of private eye Mike Church. Garcia is OK in a supporting role, Williams did OK with what he had to work with - his character was interesting, but his role was severely underwritten. Wayne Knight was annoying and for me was an unnecessary and distracting addition to the film.As it is Dead Again is a very good film, but one that could have been even better with a less heavy-handed approach.

Kenneth Branagh's second film as a director, this is an absolutely superb thriller which could hardly be more different from "Henry V". It is extremely evocative of the films of Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock and the film noir classics of the 1940s and 1950s. There is a wonderful reference to "Citizen Kane" in the scene in which Mike Church visits the elderly Gray Baker in a nursing home for information and he repeatedly asks for tobacco, as the elderly Jed Leland did in that film. The flawless and completely engrossing script was written by Scott Frank, who more recently wrote the decidedly lacklustre "The Wolverine". It is full of fantastic twists and marvellous dialogue. The cinematography is beautiful and the long uninterrupted takes, one of Branagh's trademarks, are brilliantly done, the best example being the first hypnosis scene. I have always been very nervous of knives and large scissors - perhaps I had a bad experience with them in a past life too! - so I found those parts of the film, particularly the denouement, extremely frightening. It took a few minutes after the film ended for my heart rate to return to normal.Branagh excels not only as a director but an actor too, playing the dual roles of Roman Strauss and Mike Church to perfection. The same is true of his then wife Emma Thompson as Margaret Strauss and Grace. It's a shame that they got divorced as their on screen chemistry is always electric, never more so than in "Much Ado About Nothing". The best performance in the film, however, comes from Derek Jacobi who is spellbinding as Franklyn Madson, particularly towards the end of the film. He was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor and should have received an Oscar nomination for the equivalent award. The film is pretty much dominated by those three actors but it also has strong performances from Wayne Knight, Robin Williams (in one of his first completely serious roles) and Hanna Schygulla. As I said in my review of "The Godfather Part III", I don't think that Andy García is a great actor but he was certainly better than in that film as he was given far more interesting material in spite of his far more limited screen time. That brings me to my only real criticism of the film: the old age make-up that he wore was rubbish. There is also a lovely and hilarious cameo by an uncredited Miriam Margoyles but Branagh's "mascot" Richard Briers is conspicuously absent.Overall, this is my second favourite film directed by Branagh after "Hamlet" and one of the best thrillers that I have ever seen.