The Dead Don’t Die
While I felt fortunate to see The Dead Don’t Die on the evening of the French release, it was very slow and derivative. Like Paterson, it was a case study in style over substance. The zombies were okay, with black powder emerging from them every time one of them died a second death. There were a ton of them. George Romero is name dropped and there are a ton of other references, not even limited to zombies. There’s even a Terrence Malick homage with the camera pointing straight up at the treetops while spinning.
Bill Murray, Chloe Sevigny, and Adam Driver play cops. Adam Driver has a Star Wars keychain. Rosie Perez plays a newsanchor with a “normal” voice. Steve Buscemi plays Frank, a racist farmer who apologizes to Danny Glover for calling the coffee black, but not for his “Keep America White Again” red hat. Tilda Swinton plays an offbeat, samurai sword wielding Scottish funeral director. If there ever was a role that was perfect for her, this was it. Selena Gomez and pals play hipsters.
The movie was funny, although not Shaun of the Dead funny. Also, there were times where I was the only one screaming with laughter. I guess, is there a subtle comedy sub-genre?
Jarmusch gives a reason for the zombie invasion: the earth is thrown off its axis due to polar fracking. Complete with the government denying the cause, it also is perhaps a thinly veiled opportunity to scoff at the current administration’s failure to address global warming.
The film is nihilistic, but also turns meta toward the end. Despite Jarmusch’s mastery and a cast that would make anyone drool, it felt pretty showy, yet added up to nothing. I wish he would have created a satisfying ending.
Vegan alerts:
-Skinned chicken shown rotting
-Tom Waits eats chicken
-A man tastes cat food
Additional note: it is pretty graphic with lots of blood and zombies eating human entrails.
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