Hello, everyone! You’ve got no date tonight? Your partner in crime is busy with work? Well no worries, Kenneth Branagh is here for some company! I’ve got two movies planned for you, you’ll thus get another little Kenneth Branagh pleasure time next week! For starters though, I’m going heavy on you, with a good ol’ thriller.
DEAD AGAIN
direct by Kenneth Branagh
casting Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson,
Robin Williams & Andy Garcia
Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) is a private detective who is called by a convent for help : a woman, Grace (Emma Thompson) was found in the building, suffering from amnesia. He’s trying to make her remember her family, her life, but their only starting point is that she’s haunted by dreams. An antique dealer might be the solution to the mystery, as he uses hypnosis to dwell in the lady’s past. But how come the past that resurfaces is the one of Margaret Strauss, the murdered wife of a pianist in 1949?
I hope you’re ready – this movie is one of a kind. You’ll be mesmerised, enchanted, horrified and left awestruck. Yeah, all that!
First, look at the line right above the picture, with the cast detailed. See that cast? Yeah, that’s 1h47min of pure pleasure, both in visuals and in hearing. The movie is divided in two, with a present time and a past time. The past, in the 1949, sees Emma Thompson as Margaret Strauss and Kenneth Branagh as Roman Strauss. You see their courting, their falling in love, and their helpless beauty. In the middle of that, there’s Andy Garcia as Gray Baker, who’s also quite in love with the beauty that is Margaret. Jealousy is rising. Roman offers a beautiful anklet to his wife, proof that she’s his and he’s hers. However, has jealousy been too high? What happened that night, that terrible night, when Margaret Strauss is murdered by her husband?
The man I bought it from explained to me that, when a husband gives it to his wife, they become two halves of the same person. Nothing can separate them… not even death.
– Roman Strauss
In the present, you have Emma Thompson as Grace, the amnesic, and Kenneth Branagh as Mike Church. They’ll cohabit, trying to resolve the mystery around the character of Grace. Friendship, love, feelings will rise, and you’ll get taken away by a swirl of emotions. Robin Williams, playing the peculiar character of Dr Cozy Carlisle, is a typical Robin Williams: weird, suspicious and holder of the truth, maybe? And, coming of nowhere, is an antique dealer, Franklyn Madson, who’ll be a great help in trying to resolve the case.
You follow these two plot lines, in awe before the work that has been put in place to make everything realistic, and you’re even more awestruck at the end of the movie when you realise all the little hints that have been discreetly slipped in the scenes. You stress for the characters, trying to understand what happened to Margaret and what is her link with Grace. You slowly get that it might be a story of a reincarnation – but that’s frightening, right? And what does this mean for them? Will they hurt one another? What’s going to happen? You can feel the tension rising, more and more, as the atmosphere becomes more and more grim.
I mean, how can you not fall in love with them?
Each characters are terribly well played, the pronunciation is truly beautiful, each of their voices a pleasure to hear. The visuals are wonderful, some scenes really beautiful whilst others are shocking for their violence, their angst. Oh and, be aware – you’ll be traumatised by scissors after that.
It’s really hard to write about this movie without spoiling anything, really! Everything is so thought of, I’m always afraid of saying anything that will reveal something from the plot one way or another. Just know that it’s a truly beautiful movie, deeper than you realise. There’s a splendid plot, where you suspect all of the characters, and the suspense is really well kept until the end. I think this movie might be even more great when you watch it the second time, as you can actually look for all the hints and be amazed at the wonderful directing.
For the fun fact, know that Scott Frank, who wrote the movie, had no one wanting to realise the project, as they deemed the ideas too controversial. Kenneth Branagh, contrarily, adored the story and believed it’d be a thrill to film. Thus he signed for directing! Fun fact number 2, Branagh and Thompson were married at the time – their love on screen is as beautiful as you can expect it to be.
But if you’re craving for some real love, I’m asking you to wait until next week, where I’ll write all about Much Ado About Nothing. If Dead Again left you wanting for more, or not really into Branagh, I promise this one will satisfy all your needs!
See you soon & lots of love,
Elissa
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