The Dead Don't Die

 

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, The Dead Don’t Die is the story of a zombie invasion at a small American town where its locals deal with the situation through absurdist means. The film is an offbeat zombie-comedy where groups of locals and local law enforcement deal with a mysterious zombie invasion. Starring Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Austin Butler, Sara Driver, Rosie Perez, RZA, Carol Kane, and Iggy Pop. The Dead Don’t Die is a witty and offbeat film by Jim Jarmusch.

Set in a small rural town called Centerville, the film revolves around a mysterious zombie invasion caused by polar fracking that has altered the rotation of the Earth’s axis. It is a film with a simple premise as it relates to locals and local law enforcement dealing with a zombie invasion with some unique commentary observed by a local recluse in Hermit Bob (Tom Waits) who would narrate as he walks around the woods seeing what is happening. Jim Jarmusch’s script has a unique narrative as it play into multiple characters including locals, the law enforcement, a Scottish undertaker who carries a samurai sword, traveling hipsters, a trio of juvenile delinquents, and a MAGA farmer. Notably in their reaction to the news about the Earth’s axis being off its rotation which explains watches and smartphones not working as well as day and night being off with the dead rising from the grave on the latter. The script also play with the dialogue as well as certain phrases that would become gags.

Jarmusch’s direction is also offbeat as it is set in a small town that is shot on various locations in small towns in upstate New York. While Jarmusch would include wide and medium shots of the locations that include the mountains near these small towns. Much of his direction is intimate in the usage of medium shots and close-ups as it opens with Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) trying to talk to Hermit Bob over claims that he stole some chickens from the local MAGA farmer Frank Miller (Steve Buscemi). The film then goes into offbeat elements with Chief Robertson and Officer Peterson noticing that it is 8 PM and it is still daylight with their watches and phones not working. Jarmusch’s approach to horror is more comical as the first two zombies who would appear during nighttime with the moon glowing would create havoc all because they want coffee. It would then lead to other mysterious events where Chief Robertson, Officer Peterson, and Officer Mindy Morrison (Chloe Sevigny) try to comprehend what happened with Officer Peterson realizing it is a zombie invasion.

Jarmusch would also create moments that are suspenseful yet also play into humor with characters realizing some of the zombies they killed as well as things with which they could not deal. A trio of juvenile delinquents in Stella (Maya Delmont), Olivia (Taliyah Whitaker), and Geronimo (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) are easily the smartest characters in the film as they figured out how all of this happened while dealing with their adult supervisors treating them like idiots. Jarmusch also play into the idea of consumerism in what these zombies want in the words they say as Jarmusch also puts in some satire as it relates to conspiracy theories and fake news with a news reporter in Posie Juarez (Rosie Perez) providing the news on nearby locations. The sense of surrealism and odd things would occur that includes the presence of the new local undertaker in Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton) who is an oddball that practices Buddhism, carries a samurai sword, and speaks in a Scottish accent. Even as she participates in a climax that also strays from convention in a film where moments of the fourth wall is broken. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a quirky and humorous film about a group of locals dealing with a zombie invasion.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lighting and shadows for the exterior scenes at night including shots at the cemetery as well as colorful lighting for some of the interior scenes. Editor Affonso Goncalves does excellent work with the editing with a few elements of jump-cuts, slow-motion shots, and other stylish cuts to play into the film’s humor. Production designer Alex DiGerlando, with set decorator Kendall Anderson and art director Julia Heymans, does fantastic work with the look of the diner where some of the characters socialize as well as the police base where some of the action happens. Costume designer Catherine George does nice work with the costumes as they are straightforward, including a few stylish bits in the clothes that the zombies wear.

Special makeup effects designer Michael Marino does amazing work with the look of the zombies as they all have a different look to play into their own wants as it also has elements of quirkiness in how they move. Special effects supervisors Michael Fontaine and Johann Kunz, along with visual effects supervisor Alex Hansson, do terrific work with the visual effects as it relates to the moon as well as scenes involving the zombie and a major moment in the film’s climax. Sound designer Robert Hein does superb work with the sound in how music sounds from a car as well as sound effects that play into the zombie apocalypse. The film’s music by SQURL and Carter Logan is wonderful for its low-key electronic score with contributions by Jim Jarmusch that play into the film’s suspense and humor while the music soundtrack features an original song by Sturgill Simpson that is played throughout the film.

The casting by Ellen Lewis is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Sturgill Simpson as a guitar-carrying zombie, Charlotte Kemp Muhl as a fashion zombie, Jodie Markell as a woman on TV talking about her missing cat, Eszter Balint as the diner waitress Fern, Rosal Colon as a janitor working at the diner, RZA as delivery worker who is friends with the gas station/toy shop owner Bobby that has some unique views on the world, Carol Kane as a dead town drunk who comes alive as a zombie who wants chardonnay, and the duo of Iggy Pop and Sara Driver as two zombies that wants coffee. Larry Fessenden is terrific as a motel owner in Danny Perkins who is becoming upset over his cats disappearing while Rosie Perez is superb as the local news reporter Posie Juarez who reports all the mysterious events on the news. The trio of Maya Delmont, Taliyah Whitaker, and Jahi Di’Allo Winston are fantastic in their respective roles as the juvenile delinquents Stella, Olivia, and Geronimo.

The trio of Austin Butler, Lukas Sabbat, and Selena Gomez are excellent in their respective as a trio of hipster travelers in Jack, Zack, and Zoe with Gomez being the standout as a young woman with a love for Sturgill Simpson. Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Glover, and Steve Buscemi are brilliant in their respective roles as town locals in the gas station/toy store owner Bobby, the hardware store owner Hank Thompson, and the MAGA farmer Frank Miller as locals who deal with the zombie invasion with Buscemi being ignorant about what is happening. Tom Waits is amazing as the local recluse Hermit Bob who is the observer in the film as he realizes something is going wrong as he does everything he can to be away from the chaos. Tilda Swinton is incredible as the local undertaker Zelda Winston who is an odd newcomer to the town in what she wears as well as practicing Buddhism and carries a samurai sword as Swinton brings a lot of fun to her character.

Finally, there is the trio of Bill Murray, Adam Driver, and Chloe Sevigny in remarkable performances as the local law enforcement in Chief Cliff Robertson, Officer Ronnie Peterson, and Officer Mindy Morrison. Sevigny provides that sense of fear of a woman who is unprepared for zombies while becomes emotional over the fact that she must kill people she knew. Driver’s performance is low-key in his humor as he is someone who drives a small smart-car while also comments on everything that is happening where he breaks the fourth wall at times. Murray’s performance is subdued as a police chief who is taken aback at what he is facing as he was hoping to retire as he later copes with the severity of the situation he is in.

The Dead Don’t Die is a marvelous film by Jim Jarmusch. Featuring a great ensemble cast, an offbeat and witty take on the zombie movie genre, colorful visuals, and an eerie yet odd music soundtrack. It is a film that plays with the tropes of the zombie film genre while also being subversive in its approach to the genre. In the end, The Dead Don’t Die is a remarkable film by Jim Jarmusch.

Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Gimmie Danger - Paterson - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch

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Carnal Knowledge

Directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jules Feiffer, Carnal Knowledge is the story of two college roommates who both deal with their respective relationships with women in the course of 25 years. The film explores two different men who cope with their love lives as it also has compelling discussions about sex. Starring Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margaret, Candice Bergen, Rita Moreno, Cynthia O’Neal, and Carol Kane. Carnal Knowledge is a provocative and chilling film from Mike Nichols.

The film revolves around the friendship of two college roommates in the late 1940s as they spend the next 25 years dealing with women and the complexities of their relationship. The film reveals the lives of these two different men who both have an urge to sleep with women and such but with different ideas about love. For the introverted Sandy (Art Garfunkel), he just wants to be with a woman and be in a good relationship with sex involved. For the more extroverted Jonathan (Jack Nicholson), it’s all about getting laid as he would also endure the ideas of relationships which becomes confusing once he is involved with a beautiful but very dysfunctional woman named Bobbie (Ann-Margaret). The film plays into three different time periods and with different women as screenwriter Jules Feiffer explores not just the world of sexual politics but also in how men use women for their own sexual needs.

The first act is set in Amherst College where Jonathan and Sandy are roommates as the latter pursues a student at a nearby college in Susan (Candice Bergen) where they have a relationship but Jonathan’s advice from Sandy would complicate things until Jonathan would have an affair with Susan which becomes secret. The second act is set in New York City in the corporate world where Sandy and Susan are married but it’s not a happy union while Jonathan embarks on this turbulent relationship with Bobbie as it is Jonathan’s attempt to have a steady relationship. What happens plays into the fallacy of relationships as well as what happens when sex gets in the way where there are many discussions between the two men about sex. Some tend to be good but some of it is also bad as it relates to Sandy’s marriage to Susan as Sandy would look for something else prompting Jonathan to do something to help them both. It would lead to a third act as it plays into not just what it means to be adults but also the idea of love and sex.

Mike Nichols’ direction is very engaging for the way it explores the friendship of two men in the span of 25 years as Nichols doesn’t really go for any kind of visual tricks. Instead, it is very straightforward while he manages to let things play out in terms of what happens when it comes to the idea of sex and relationships. The compositions that Nichols create interesting in the way he frames the actors into a film while having one or two characters in the foreground while someone else is in the background. Even as the person in the background is either watching or being the subject of ridicule as there are moments of dark and crass humor involved. Especially as the women in the film do get treated like shit as they call upon Jonathan for his bullshit while Sandy would also get some recourse for his own actions. Even as its third act plays into the eventual destinies that both Sandy and Jonathan endure in their life and what they’re willing to accept. Overall, Nichols create a very compelling and witty film about two men exploring the world of sex and love.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to create some unique moments for some of the nighttime interior/exterior scenes to set some dark moods into the film. Editor Sam O’Steen does brilliant work with the editing to convey some of the drama that occurs with a few jump cuts and other rhythmic cuts to play into some of the dramatic tension. Production designer Richard Sylbert, with set decorator George R. Nelson and art director Robert Luthardt, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the apartment Jonathan lived in with Bobbie to the more posh one he would have in the film‘s final moments. Costume designer Anthea Sylbert does terrific work with the costumes from the clothes that the men wear in the different time periods to the stylish clothes of the women. Sound recordist Larry Jost does nice work with the sound as it’s very low-key and to the point while capturing much of the music that is played on film ranging from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Frank Sinatra.

The film’s phenomenal cast includes notable appearances from Carol Kane as Sandy’s second wife Jennifer late in the film, Cynthia O’Neal as a friend of Bobbie that Sandy would date in Cindy, and Rita Moreno in a superb one-scene performance as a hooker that Jonathan meets late in the film. Candice Bergen is excellent as Sandy’s college girlfriend/first wife Susan as she is this woman that is charmed by Sandy’s kindness as she later has an affair with Jonathan that would have her be more outgoing. Ann-Margaret is fantastic as Bobbie as this very attractive but troubled older woman who doesn’t feel she is treated fairly while being someone that seems to depend on the needs of a man.

Art Garfunkel is superb as Sandy as this introverted man that is trying to find ways to be with women as he later becomes disillusioned with the idea of marriage only to realize that there’s so much more to life than just sex. Finally, there’s Jack Nicholson in an incredible performance as Jonathan Fuerst as this very charming and wild man that is eager to get what he wants while becoming frustrated with the constraints of being in a relationship while giving Sandy advice that eventually doesn’t work as he copes with who he is as it’s one of Nicholson’s best performances.

Carnal Knowledge is a riveting yet unsettling film from Mike Nichols that features top-tier performances from Jack Nicholson and Ann-Margaret. It’s a film that manages to very captivating in its exploration of sex as well as the roles of genders during that time. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be provocative as it is also a film that showcased what was happening during the early 70s when sex is being discussed openly. In the end, Carnal Knowledge is a marvelous film from Mike Nichols.

Mike Nichols Films: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - (The Graduate) - (Catch-22) - (The Day of the Dolphin) - (The Fortune) - (Gilda Live) - (Silkwood) - (Heartburn) - (Biloxi Blues) - Working Girl - Postcards from the Edge - (Regarding Henry) - (Wolf (1994 film)) - The Birdcage - (Primary Colors) - (What Planet Are You From?) - (Wit) - (Angels in America) - Closer - (Charlie Wilson’s War)

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