''Dead Again'' is a 1991
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
romantic thriller film directed by
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
and written by
Scott Frank
A. Scott Frank (born March 10, 1960) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Frank has received two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''Out of Sight'' (1998) and ''Logan'' (2017). His film work, c ...
. It stars Branagh and
Emma Thompson, with
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's ''The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside ...
,
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''Kin ...
,
Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...
,
Wayne Knight
Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...
, and
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
appearing in supporting roles.
''Dead Again'' was a moderate box office success and received positive reviews from the majority of critics. Jacobi was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. Actors of all n ...
, and
Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish film composer with Irish heritage. A longtime collaborator of actor-director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work composing for films such as ''Henry V'', '' Sense and Sensibility'', ''Haml ...
, who composed the film's music, was nominated for a
Golden Globe for
Best Original Score.
Plot
Newspapers detail the 1948 murder of Margaret Strauss, who was stabbed during a robbery; her anklet is missing. Her husband, composer Roman Strauss, is found guilty of the crime and condemned to death. Before his execution, Roman is visited by reporter Gray Baker. Asked if he killed Margaret, Roman appears to whisper something in Baker's ear. Baker does not disclose Roman's answer.
Forty-three years later, private detective Mike Church investigates the identity of a woman who has appeared at the orphanage where he grew up. She has
amnesia, cannot speak and has nightmares. Mike takes her in and asks his friend, Pete Dugan, to publish her picture and his contact info. Antiques dealer and
hypnotist Franklyn Madson approaches Mike, suggesting
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
may help her recover her memory.
When the session is unsuccessful, Madson suggests they experiment with
past life regression
Past life regression is a method that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations. The practice is widely considered discredited and unscientific by medical practitioners, and experts generally re ...
. Mike is skeptical, but the woman details Margaret and Roman's lives in
third person, from courtship to their wedding. When the session ends, she can speak but still has amnesia. Madson shows them
''Life'' magazine articles covering the murder. Mike and the woman bear a striking resemblance to Roman and Margaret. Mike visits former psychiatrist Cozy Carlisle, who insists they continue to see Madson; delving into the problems between Margaret and Roman may resolve her amnesia.
Mike nicknames the woman "Grace", and falls in love with her. A man named Doug appears and claims she is his fiancée Katherine, but Mike discovers he is lying and chases him off. Hypnotized, Grace remembers that Roman suffered from
writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...
and is broke. He believes that Margaret is flirting with Baker, whom she met on their wedding day. Margaret cannot convince him she is faithful and catches Frankie, the son of their housekeeper Inga, looking through her jewelry box. She asks Roman to dismiss Inga but Roman refuses, saying that Inga saved his life in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
Grace sees Mike standing over Margaret with scissors, and is convinced he intends to kill her. Mike insists that he would never hurt her, but when he accidentally calls her "Margaret", he agrees to let Madson regress him. During his regression, he realizes that he was Margaret and Grace was actually Roman, but is unable to tell Madson or Grace about this revelation.
Pete Dugan tells Mike that he has identified Grace as artist Amanda Sharp. Turns out she lost her memory due to getting mugged one night. Amanda/Grace, still afraid of Mike, accompanies Dugan and Madson to her apartment; her artwork focuses on scissors. Madson gives her a gun to protect herself from Mike. Mike visits Gray Baker in a nursing home and asks him about Roman's secret, but Baker insists that Roman said nothing to him but instead he leaned over and kissed him. Baker is convinced that Roman did not kill his wife and urge Mike to find Inga, who might know what truly happened.
Mike find and questions Inga. She reveal that Madson is actually Frankie. One day on 1948, she declared her love to Roman but he rebuffed her. Frankie blamed Margaret for his mother's unhappiness and killed her with scissors, then stole her anklet. Roman later was found covered in his wife's blood and holding the murder weapon.
After Roman's execution, Inga took Frankie to London where he learned about
hypnotherapy and past-life regression. After returning to LA, Frankie was convinced that Margaret's spirit would seek revenge. Seeing Amanda's photo in the paper, he knew she had returned. He hired Doug, an actor, to separate Mike and Amanda and distract Amanda while he waited to kill her. Inga apologizes for her role in Margaret's death and gives Mike the anklet. After Mike leaves to find Amanda, Frankie/Madson smothers Inga with a pillow.
Mike tries to tell Amanda the truth. Terrified, she shoots him. Madson arrives and reveals that he is Frankie. Amanda tries to shoot him as well, but the gun jams and he knocks her out. He puts the scissors he used to kill Margaret in Mike's hand and tries to make it look like Amanda killed him and committed suicide. Mike revives and stabs Madson in the leg with the scissors. In the ensuing struggle, Mike grabs the gun from Madson. Dugan arrives, misconstrues the scene and tackles Mike. As Madson reaches for the dropped pistol, Amanda stabs him in the back with the scissors. In a rage, Madson pulls the scissors out and charges at Mike, but Mike quickly positions Amanda's scissors sculpture so that Madson impales himself.
A closing montage shows Mike and Amanda embracing, superimposed over Margaret and Roman in happier times.
Cast
*
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
as Mike Church/Roman Strauss
*
Emma Thompson as "Grace"/Amanda Sharp/Margaret Strauss
*
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's ''The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside ...
as Gray Baker
*
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''Kin ...
as Franklyn Madson
*
Wayne Knight
Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...
as "Piccolo" Pete Dugan
*
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
as Dr. Cozy Carlisle
*
Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...
as Inga
*
Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961) is an American actor, producer and director. His roles include Steve Dunne in '' Singles'', Mark Usher in '' House of Cards'', Joseph Tobin in ''Damages'', and Richard Parker in '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' an ...
as Doug
*
Jo Anderson as Sister Madeleine/Masquerade Party Guest
*
Lois Hall
Lois Grace Hall (August 22, 1926 – December 21, 2006) was an American actress.
Early years
Hall was born on August 22, 1926, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the daughter of Lois Grace (née Lambert), a teacher, and Ralph Stewart Hall, a business ...
as Sister Constance
*
Richard Easton
John Richard Easton (March 22, 1933 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial '' The Brothers''.
Life and career
Easton was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Mar ...
as Father Timothy
* Gregor Hesse as Frankie
*
Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...
as Sid
* Vasek Simek as Otto Kline
*
Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co- ...
as Lydia Larson
*
Raymond Cruz
Raymond Cruz (born July 9, 1961) is an American actor, best known for his starring role as Detective Julio Sanchez in the series '' The Closer'' and its spinoff '' Major Crimes'', as well as his recurring role as drug lord Tuco Salamanca in ...
as supermarket clerk
*
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The ...
as hypnotic subject in shop (uncredited)
Production
An international co-production film between The United States and The United Kingdom. According to the director's commentary on the DVD, the movie was filmed entirely in color. After test screenings, it was decided to use black and white for the "past" sequences to help clear up audience confusion. The final frame, once the mystery is solved, blooms from black and white to color.
Release
''Dead Again'' was released on August 23, 1991 in the United States and October 25, 1991 in the United Kingdom. It was later entered into the
42nd Berlin International Film Festival
The 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1992. The festival opened with '' The Inner Circle'' by Andrei Konchalovsky. The Golden Bear was awarded to American film '' Grand Canyon'' directed by Lawrence K ...
in February 1992.
Home media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on June 27, 2000 through
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
. The DVD Special Features include two audio commentaries and a theatrical trailer.
It was then released for the first time on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on October 5, 2021; on the film's 30th anniversary.
Reception
Critical response
''Dead Again'' was well received by most critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
it has an approval rating of 82% based on reviews from 49 critics with the consensus: "Even if the somewhat convoluted plot falls apart upon close inspection, ''Dead Again'' proves Kenneth Branagh has a solid knack for enjoyable pulp."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics.
Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.
''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' film critic
Roger Ebert gave the film a glowing four star review, drawing comparisons to the works of
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
and
Alfred Hitchcock, stating, "''Dead Again'' is Kenneth Branagh once again demonstrating that he has a natural flair for bold theatrical gesture. If ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
'', the first film he directed and starred in, caused people to compare him to
Olivier, ''Dead Again'' will inspire comparisons to Welles and Hitchcock - and the Olivier of Hitchcock's ''
Rebecca''. I do not suggest Branagh is already as great a director as Welles and Hitchcock, although he has a good start in that direction. What I mean is that his spirit, his daring, is in the same league. He is not interested in making timid movies."
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
also gave the film a four star review, praising Branagh's direction and all levels of the production, from the screenplay by
Scott Frank
A. Scott Frank (born March 10, 1960) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Frank has received two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''Out of Sight'' (1998) and ''Logan'' (2017). His film work, c ...
to
Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish film composer with Irish heritage. A longtime collaborator of actor-director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work composing for films such as ''Henry V'', '' Sense and Sensibility'', ''Haml ...
's score, stating, "...Branagh has combined all of these cinematic elements into an achievement that rivals Hitchcock's best work and stands out as one of the most intriguing and memorable thrillers of the 1990s."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' viewed the film negatively, praising some elements of Branagh's direction while criticizing the romance, saying, "In his efforts to crowd the screen with character and incident, Branagh cheats on the one element that might have given resonance to the mystery: the love story. Branagh and Thompson (married in real life) are sublime actors, but they never develop a convincing ardor as either couple. How could they when the director is so busy playing tricks? ''Dead Again'' isn't a disaster, merely a miscalculation from a prodigious talent who has forgotten that you squeeze the life out of romance when you don't give it space to breathe."
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' gave the film a lukewarm review, calling it "a big, convoluted, entertainingly dizzy romantic mystery melodrama" and concluding, "''Dead Again'' is eventually a lot simpler than it pretends to be. The explanation of the mystery is a rather commonplace letdown, but probably nothing short of mass murder could successfully top the baroque buildup. In this way, too, the film is faithful to its antecedents, while still being a lot of fun."
In 2016, Jason Bailey at ''
Flavorwire
''Flavorwire'' is a New York City-based online culture magazine. The site includes original feature articles, interviews, reviews, as well as content recycled from other sources. ''Flavorwire'' describes themselves as "a network of culturally con ...
'', repeated Roger Ebert's initial directorial comparisons, writing that, "''Dead Again'' is one of the most Hitchcockian thrillers this side of
De Palma, with easily traceable influences of Olivier-fronted ''Rebecca'' (in the creepy, needy housekeeper), ''
Psycho'' (the mysterious old mother in the next room), ''
Dial M for Murder
''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was b ...
'' (the scissors as murder weapon), and ''
Spellbound'' (the therapeutic elements, plus a quickie reference to
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...
, who advised on that film’s dream sequences)".
Box office
''Dead Again'' grossed $3,479,395 during its opening weekend, playing on 450 screens. It eventually grossed more than $38 million by the end of its theatrical run.
Accolades
Media
''Dead Again'' was one of several influences on the 1999 conceptual album, ''
Metropolis pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory'', by the American
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
band
Dream Theater.
It was also unofficially remade into a 1998 Malayalam movie
Mayilpeelikkavu
''Mayilpeelikkavu'' () is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language mystery thriller film directed by the Anil-Babu duo and starring Kunchacko Boban and Jomol. This is the third film of Kunchacko Boban and it is about reincarnation and revenge. The movi ...
and in 2008 as ''
Sila Nerangalil''.
References
External links
*
{{Scott Frank
1991 films
1990s mystery thriller films
1990s romantic thriller films
American mystery thriller films
American romantic thriller films
British mystery thriller films
British thriller films
Films about amnesia
Films about reincarnation
Films directed by Kenneth Branagh
Films about hypnosis
Films partially in color
Films scored by Patrick Doyle
Films set in 1949
Films set in the 1990s
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films with screenplays by Scott Frank
Paramount Pictures films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
1990s British films