Dead Man

Dead Man (1995) starts with an accountant from Cleveland travelling west for a job. His name is William Blake. There is no job, he is shot, and while fleeing he is joined by a native man called Nobody. Nobody takes him for the reincarnation of the English poet William Blake, and the rest of the film follows that misunderstanding. Blake's poetry is woven through it. Passages from Auguries of Innocence and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell appear, and the character Thel takes her name from The Book of Thel. Neil Young made the score alone, improvising in a studio while watching the cut film. Jarmusch chose the method deliberately, believing it would strengthen the film's narrative feel. The album has seven instrumentals with dialogue between them and Depp reading Blake. Gary Farmer, who plays Nobody, won Best Actor at the American Indian Film Festival in 1997. It cost nine million dollars, the most Jarmusch had spent, and took roughly one million in cinemas. Reviews were mixed and Roger Ebert gave it one and a half stars. The verdict reversed over the years and the film entered the Criterion Collection. It runs 122 minutes. Good for: black and white westerns, Jarmusch, and journeys that move towards death. Less good for: it is extremely slow and never builds tension. The violence is sudden and strange. Many of the connections are lost on anyone who does not know Blake's poetry.