The Dead Don’t Die is written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, and it takes place in the town of Centerville, USA, following a pair of cops on patrol during a zombie invasion, caused by polar fracking and lunar radiation.
Jim Jarmusch is one of those filmmakers that has a very non-traditional approach to his movies, such as Stranger Than Paradise and Coffee and Cigarettes; the acting approach is normally handled like they’re first told the scenario before he yells “action”. Despite the fact that I’ve become desensitized to zombies, he gave an intriguing enough premise and had a solid cast attached it. And despite his style not being my particular taste, the movie managed to be one of the more unique zom-coms I’ve seen in a long time.
Adam Driver and Bill Murray are a great pair, and their dry sense of humor is perfect for one of Jarmusch’s scripts. They always seem to have some kind of sarcastic sounding or ‘matter-of-fact’ delivery that never once felt out of character. I also love their fourth wall humor, such as when they’re talking about the film’s theme song by Sturgill Simpson (who has an appearance as a zombie), to when they’re discussing the script itself; with the kind of filmmaker Jarmusch is, I’d actually believe it if that scene was entirely improvised by Driver and Murray.
As for the supporting cast, Chloe Sevigny as the third cop of the crew does great; with this style of film making and with the leads we have, she has great impeccable timing with them. Danny Glover and Steve Buscemi as a hardware store owner and conservative farmer both have hilarious moments, along with Eszter Balint as the waitress who serves them in their first scene. Iggy Pop and Sara Driver appear as the first two zombies, Selena Gomze and Austin Butler appear as some party groupies passing through town, and Tom Waits as Hermit Bob always kept me guess what this crazy guy was going to do next.
The zombies are done in the traditional George A. Romero style, whom Jarmusch has noted as inspiration for this film, with the addition of smoke and ash coming from the wounds. After all the running zombie films we’ve been getting since Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, it’s nostalgic to see some filmmakers keep some old cliches feel fresh again.
In terms of negatives, it has to do with Tilda Swinton’s character and what they do with her by the end. She’s hilarious and gives a badass performance, but maybe too badass; it just felt by the end of the movie, Jarmusch wrote himself into a corner with this character, and needed some outlandish way to get her out. I laughed, but only at how left-field it was. Not to mention, it does kind of spoil itself, which I didn’t think was possible for a film to do, but it does kind of make it predictably disappointing.
The Dead Don’t Die was a delightful experience I didn’t think I was going to get, but I’m happy it did. With how common place and by the numbers zombie flicks had been, it’s refreshing to get one that has a nonchalant approach to it like the audience does. It’s not breaking any ground or anything, but compared to other zombie films over the years, I’d take this one over the rest.
Rating: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment