Movie Review:
Dead Again (1991)
MOVIE REVIEW:
Dead Again (1991)
Dead Again (1991)
TITLE: Dead Again
RELEASE DATE: August 23, 1991
TRAILER: CLICK HERE
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SUMMARY
Mike Church, a Los Angeles-based private investigator who specializes in finding lost people. His latest case involves an amnesiac woman, whom he names Grace, struggling with nightmares of a brutal murder that occurred in the 1940s.
As the pair start unraveling Grace's forgotten past, they come across a surprising connection to a composer and his wife from the past. As the story progresses, both Mike and Grace must unravel their links to these events while contending with unexpected romantic feelings between them.
THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN THE FILM
Dead Again contrasts the glamorous lifestyle of Hollywood in the 40s with the gritty/cynical/jaded LA of the 1990s, particularly changes within American Society overall. It shows us the dark side of corruption and manipulation, loss of innocence and integrity, and the moral decay of the modern world. Or I’m reaching. Either way.
The movie also explores how trauma affects memory and identity. The characters are haunted by their pasts and possibly their past lives. We see the importance of properly healing as they struggle to recover their true selves. On a wider scale, it looks at the cycle of violence and the need for forgiveness and redemption.
WHAT I LOVED
I like the concept of a present mystery being unraveled through hypnosis tapping into past lives. I don’t think it was necessarily well done and I’m not sure it could be. It’s the type of conceit you have to really suspend disbelief for and as such, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Branagh and Thompson were absolutely amazing together. You can see their real-life chemistry all over the screen. They were fantastic together.
The dialogue was pretty tight throughout.
And (unlike Shakes the Clown) Robin’s part in this movie is fantastic. I really liked this character and craved so much more screentime from him.
WHAT I DIDN’T
I can suspend disbelief, but this story required a LOT of that from me. :)
I did think they telegraphed the “twist” way too early and a lot of the movie was much more complicated than it needed to be.
The reveal of “What Roman said to Baker” was ridiculous and not in a good way at all.
The plot is filled with so many holes I quit counting. This is not an exercise in logic by any means.
FAVORITE PARTS
The hypnotist trying to find antiques so he can grab them at a cheap price was hilarious to me.
My other favorite part was just Robin on screen. I would’ve loved if he had a lot more time with Branaugh.
OTHER THOUGHTS
Overall, this is probably a throw-away movie for me. Not something I probably care to ever revisit, but if I do it will be for Robin’s scenes. I think the concept was fascinating, but they did not pull off the execution in a way that makes me care.