Dead Again 4K 1991

It really is an excellent film. The incredibly gripping screenplay by then-novice writer Scott Frank (who would later adapt Elmore Leonard’s novels and direct the thriller *The Deception*) was transformed into an equally gripping detective story in the hands of British actor and director Kenneth Branagh. The mystical plot tells the story of a young woman who not only suffers from amnesia but is also tormented at night by terrifying nightmares. Tired of her screams, the administration of the convent where she has been living for some time decides to seek help from Mike Church, a private investigator specializing in locating missing persons (there’s clearly a pun here in the English version).

It soon becomes clear that the woman is closely connected to a murder that took place in the late 1940s—the talented composer Roman Strauss stabbed his own wife to death, and she appears to be her reincarnation. The detective himself bears a striking resemblance to the husband. The plot twists are incredible, and the characters decide to get to the bottom of things with the help of a hypnotist.

First and foremost, one cannot fail to note Branna’s masterful direction: the black-and-white flashbacks are shot in such a way that it’s easy to believe they truly originated in the 1940s. The work with lighting and sets is superb, not to mention the music, which keeps the tension high and functions here almost like a character in its own right.

The screenplay has a few knockout surprises in store, even though, on the one hand, the villain’s identity isn’t exactly kept under wraps, while on the other, the film manages to so thoroughly confuse you with all sorts of red herrings and false leads that you’re left in the dark anyway.

Perhaps the overall positive impression is slightly marred by a somewhat contrived—or, to be more precise, old-fashioned—ending, though not enough to cause much indignation.

All in all, we have a decent film that manages to incorporate elements of detective fiction, gothic horror, mysticism, and, of course, melodrama. After all, ‘Dead Again’—as cliché as it may sound—is a film about love.