"Dead Man" makes "Tombstone" look like a leftover pizza without any cheese.
Director and writer Jim Jarmusch's 1995 black-and-white Western is almost too good for words, but I'll type on since we don't print pantomime, and I'm a writer.
Johnny Depp, the king of cool, plays the lead role of William Blake — a bookish type from Cleveland looking for an accounting job in the ruthlessly rugged West.
Things become violent, as they should, and Blake flees to the woods as an outlaw after a night of passion with the lovely Thel Russell — played by Mili Avital.
Blake gradually turns into a cold-blooded killer taking down cowboys, U.S. marshals and anyone else who wanders between him and his six-shooter.
But he isn't totally alone in the forest, as Blake travels on horseback with an outcast American Indian cleverly named "Nobody" — played by Gary Farmer.
The dialogue between Blake and "Nobody" is ultra witty because the indigenous black sheep is hip to the writings of the British poet with the same name as Depp's character.
"Nobody" guides Blake on a deranged spiritual awaking through canyons, campfires and fresh streams.
Jarmusch's cinematography in the adventurous outdoor scenes, which make up most of the movie, is pure jaw-dropping, eye-bulging brilliance. The black-and-white film provides the perfect visual mood for the old uncultivated West.
Not only does the movie look awe-inspiring, it sounds marvelous, too. Neil Young wrote and composed all of the music on the soundtrack.
The finest aspect of Young's performance is it sounds as if he watched the film in real time and recorded the soundtrack live.
Young really gets down on his electric guitar with some out-of-this-world feedback layered over with delicate acoustic guitar progressions.
Another highlight is when Blake comes across the campfire of Salvatore "Sally" Jenko (Iggy Pop), Big George Drakoulious (Billy Bob Thornton) and Benmont Tench (Jared Harris). Pop dresses as a dirty old woman cooking up beans, while Thornton's slow-witted hillbilly character, Big George, makes a pass at Blake because his hair smells nice.
The scene is beautifully awkward and ends in a comical shoot-out.
So if you're looking for a unique take on the Western genre that's elegantly filmed, with awesome dialogue and Young rocking out to gun battles and iron horses rolling by, this is the rental for you.
