The Dead Don't Die- Night of the living deadpan
The notable American icon of the independent cinema world Jim Jarmusch, has never been one to conform to the norm of cinema elements in narrative and performance. And it's his latest Cannes opening horror flick that takes the idea of the undead quite literally in the zombie pic The Dead Don't Die. The story is set in the aptly named 'Centreville', your classic American small town in the middle of nowhere, as we follow the day to day lives of its inhabitance including the local police duo played by indie darlings Bill Murray and Adam Driver. However, due to the earth turning off its axis due to the polar fracking, the dead are now raising from their graves in classic George A. Romero fashion as the town attempt to deal with this phenomenon in their own strange ways.
Firstly as cast lists go, Jarmusch certainly won the lottery for his actors list. With a variety of weird and cooky performances by Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Tom Waits, Danny Glover and even a few pop culture icons such as Selena Gomez, The Rza and even Iggy Pop who played the role of a caffeine addicted zombie quite convincingly. Although it seems that even with a cast notable for their passionate and emotional performances, Jarmusch decided to have them tone down to a dull drone as all the portrayals were done completely deadpan. It felt like watching an all star cast acting like kids performing a year 9 Christmas play. Of course this felt like Jarmusch's signature ironic approach as a way of relating the mundane, everyday lifestyle to that of the zombies themselves, which rather than put in subtext is metaphorically written in capital letters in bold throughout the film. This does make watching this film a bit of a bore as zombie films are prime examples of action and suspense, where as this is slow and seemingly lackluster. I found this both intriguing and at times hilarious, yet at the same time I found the characters in constant conflict with their dull personas. There are characters that are so silly and ludicrous that it would be a laugh riot if they got to go crazy with their performances, and yet the silliness is shown through the unfeeling reactions to the unnatural occurrences.
Another aspect that left me with a sour taste in my mouth was the narratives pace and tone. While Jarmusch certainly has a style that is his own, I felt like combining this with the zombie genre is a recipe for disaster. I enjoyed the occasional fourth wall breaking jokes and the constant repetition of phrases (although I might need a break from Sturgill Simpson), yet the rest of the film is so tedious and sporadic that I could never relate or grow fond of any of these people on screen. Every time I felt their would be a character arc or a relationship building between two people it would be cut off suddenly. Rather than increasing the tension or raising the stakes, it continues begrudgingly on like the zombies it is portraying. This is where my biggest problem comes in with the film, it's a zombie film that doesn't seem to add anything to the genre, but rather repeats what has already been said. I think Jarmusch is a innovative director, but the film sticks to the same notes that he is known for and doesn't add anything to the genre as a whole. Also it does poke fun at the fans of the genre through a certain character who during the zombie apocalypse says he is prepared yet forgets to barricade the back door.
Overall if you are a fan of Jarmusch's work, or if you enjoy the painfully ironic scenarios, this film might be for you. But if you are casual or even a hardcore zombie fan, don't expect this to join the classics in the undead genre. Its remains a curious yet refreshing piece of cinema. However like an exotic food that you've never tried, you'll probably hate it but you'll be happy that you gave it a chance.
Film grade: C-
Firstly as cast lists go, Jarmusch certainly won the lottery for his actors list. With a variety of weird and cooky performances by Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Tom Waits, Danny Glover and even a few pop culture icons such as Selena Gomez, The Rza and even Iggy Pop who played the role of a caffeine addicted zombie quite convincingly. Although it seems that even with a cast notable for their passionate and emotional performances, Jarmusch decided to have them tone down to a dull drone as all the portrayals were done completely deadpan. It felt like watching an all star cast acting like kids performing a year 9 Christmas play. Of course this felt like Jarmusch's signature ironic approach as a way of relating the mundane, everyday lifestyle to that of the zombies themselves, which rather than put in subtext is metaphorically written in capital letters in bold throughout the film. This does make watching this film a bit of a bore as zombie films are prime examples of action and suspense, where as this is slow and seemingly lackluster. I found this both intriguing and at times hilarious, yet at the same time I found the characters in constant conflict with their dull personas. There are characters that are so silly and ludicrous that it would be a laugh riot if they got to go crazy with their performances, and yet the silliness is shown through the unfeeling reactions to the unnatural occurrences.
Another aspect that left me with a sour taste in my mouth was the narratives pace and tone. While Jarmusch certainly has a style that is his own, I felt like combining this with the zombie genre is a recipe for disaster. I enjoyed the occasional fourth wall breaking jokes and the constant repetition of phrases (although I might need a break from Sturgill Simpson), yet the rest of the film is so tedious and sporadic that I could never relate or grow fond of any of these people on screen. Every time I felt their would be a character arc or a relationship building between two people it would be cut off suddenly. Rather than increasing the tension or raising the stakes, it continues begrudgingly on like the zombies it is portraying. This is where my biggest problem comes in with the film, it's a zombie film that doesn't seem to add anything to the genre, but rather repeats what has already been said. I think Jarmusch is a innovative director, but the film sticks to the same notes that he is known for and doesn't add anything to the genre as a whole. Also it does poke fun at the fans of the genre through a certain character who during the zombie apocalypse says he is prepared yet forgets to barricade the back door.
Overall if you are a fan of Jarmusch's work, or if you enjoy the painfully ironic scenarios, this film might be for you. But if you are casual or even a hardcore zombie fan, don't expect this to join the classics in the undead genre. Its remains a curious yet refreshing piece of cinema. However like an exotic food that you've never tried, you'll probably hate it but you'll be happy that you gave it a chance.
Film grade: C-
Comments
Post a Comment