 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: The Dead Don’t Die • Year: 2019 • Country: Sweden, USA • Director: Jim Jarmusch • Main cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits • Runtime: 104 minutes • Production company: Animal Kingdom, Film i Väst • TRAILER
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If you are not in the mood of reading a long review, I can say it simply. The Dead Don’t Die (2019) is silly. Very silly. What was the intention of writer and director Jim Jarmusch when he got together some of his movie pals for his new production, this zombie horror comedy? To have a good time, for sure. That’s the strongest thing the movie expresses, they are having a good time.
The movie is set in a little town ironically called Centerville that could easily be a reflection of what is currently happening in the first world countries, and more specifically in the United States. The racial hate messages like “make America white again” are present. The media manipulating information and flouting science and evidence in a systematic way, with audience admitting they don’t believe what the authority says anymore but, who cares? People who have been knowing each other for a massive handful of decades de-humanizing any kind of empathy or emotion. Sometimes the only way to know if one character is a zombie or a human is if they have the rotten make-up on. Because The Dead Don’t Die (2019) is very heavy with irony and, as a comedy, the reality is pushed until its limits, but it still is reality.
It certainly is a movie to watch together with your friends. It won’t be the one that makes the theater explode in laughing, but it is the kind that after watching it, while deciding what to do, to go grab something to eat or to go for drinks, we all will be commenting two things. Okay, three things. First, “what the fuck was this silly thing?”. Second, if the filmmakers were serious with all the social criticism, getting to the conclusion that not really. And the third one is your favorite gag of the movie. I have mine, and I won’t share it here because I don’t want to ruin it with spoilers, but I was craving to see again Danny Glover doing funny shit and I was satisfied.
In the technical aspect, The Dead Don’t Die (2019) is an excellent movie. The cast, filled with stars from the previous Jarmusch movies plus some new additions work perfectly, understanding the tone and purposes of the film. The ambient rock soundtrack by SQÜRL, the music project of the director, fits perfect to create a cold atmosphere for both a horror movie and to accompany the characters’ empty lifes. Cinematography is great, and the special effects of the zombie slashing scenes are outstanding. Everything is perfect at the service of the movie. But, is the story of The Dead Don’t Die (2019) drifting? I honestly think it’s not. It’s not like they didn’t know how to compose a good storyline, a good plot, a good film. I think they just didn’t want to.
Everything works perfectly with The Dead Don’t Die (2019), except for The Dead Don’t Die (2019). And I think that is exactly what the filmmakers wanted. Jim Jarmusch wanted to get together with Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Eszter Balint, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, RZA, Larry Fessenden, Rosie Perez, Sara Driver, Iggy Pop, Tilda Swinton and Selena Gomez and have fun doing a zombie film. Mission accomplished. It all surrounded by the title song by Sturgill Simpson, present until exhaustion along all the movie. Then add some social criticism, but never enough for it to be taken seriously. All mixed up with plotline and dialogs, at moments brilliant but mostly lame and predictable, the how-know and experience of the cast and crew, and the determination that it all doesn’t matter. It’s a cheap movie, it is not grossing a fortune but it’s making profits. They all had fun. Some people will hate it, some other people will love it, and most of us will go neutral with it. It works because it doesn’t matter if it works or not. So they win.
Mister Jarmusch, you filled up your movie The Dead Don’t Die (2019) with inner jokes from your pals, so I am going to take the liberty to end my review with one of my own collection. I rate this film 6/10. No, 6,3/10.
RATE: 6,3/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8695030
