How the Dead Don't Die starring Bill Murray is disappointing

The story begins in the provincial American town of Centerville. Cops Cliff Robertson, Ronnie Peterson and Mindy Morrison (Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloe Sevigny) try to understand the nature of the strange events happening everywhere. Electronics do not work, animals have gone berserk, and the dead are leaving their graves en masse. The crowds of the dead that fill the streets are hungry for fresh human flesh and things that they loved in life: coffee, chardonnay, Xanax and free internet.

New genre, old techniques

It is important for viewers not to let the trailer be misled and not expect an easy and cheerful comedy from Jarmusch, so as not to feel deceived during the viewing process. After all, the director's previous work does not fit in with dynamism. Suffice it to recall the mystical road movie "Dead Man", the colloquial almanac "Coffee and Cigarettes", the languid meditative melodrama "Only Lovers Will Survive" and the poetically contemplative "Paterson".

Of course, after Edgar Wright's "Zombie Called Sean" or "Welcome to Zombieland" by Ruben Fleischer, it's hard to imagine a leisurely and contemplative parody of the zombie genre. Nevertheless, Jarmusch's film is exactly like that.

The director is faithful to all his favorite techniques, in particular the principle of repetition. The police officers, looking at the gutted corpses, over and over again ask each other: “Maybe this is a wild animal? Or a few animals? " And the character of Adam Driver sometimes repeats: "This will not end well!"

Jarmusch's films are very musical, and The Dead Don't Die is no exception. The soundtrack was written by the director's own group SQÜRL, and the main theme - the country ballad Dead donʼt die - was specially ordered by Jarmusch from the singer Sturgill Simpson. The master's favorite musicians - Iggy Pop and Tom Waits - appeared in the film as very colorful characters.

For seasoned cinephiles, the film will be a real test of cinematic erudition. There are numerous references to the films of George Romero, the director who first screened the classic living dead. Jarmusch shamelessly tosses a keychain with the Star Wars logo to Driver, who played the villainous Kylo Ren in Star Wars.

Deconstruction of the genre: how Jarmusch turns cinema inside out

When viewed, a striking feature immediately catches the eye: the characters of the film are not living people, but dummies. The actors seem to be playing parodies of themselves. Bill Murray is as empty and phlegmatic as in Broken Flowers. The name of Adam Driver's character is Ronnie Peterson, a clear reference to Jarmusch's Paterson.

Steve Buscemi's character, who has made a name for himself as a typical xenophobic proletarian, wears a baseball cap with a mocking "Make America White Again" caption. And as if born to play unusual heroes hereditary aristocrat Tilda Swinton is just as out of this world as she was in the vampire drama Only Lovers Left Alive.

Even the town of Centerville itself and its sleepy provincial surroundings are familiar to everyone who has seen at least one episode of "Twin Peaks". The hermit Bob, played by Tom Waits, also recalls the cult creation of Lynch: such a character could well exist in the scenery of the Black Lodge.

The characters do know they are in the movie. One of the heroes casually declares that he read the script, thereby finally breaking the so-called fourth wall.

Radical criticism of consumerism

Jarmusch has already used ingenious metaphors in Only Lovers Alive. There, refined and educated vampires symbolized the remnants of civilized humanity. Indifferent to the heritage of world culture of ordinary people, the main characters called zombies.

The painting "The Dead Don't Die" continues this idea. The unwilling to give up their hobbies, the walking dead personify our slavish attachment to things and an all-consuming desire to consume.

In general, going to the new Jarmusch film, be prepared for the fact that this gloomy and depressing movie is unlikely to be able to laugh enough. But if you tune in in advance and accept the rules of the director's game, it is quite possible to enjoy the absurd humor, numerous subtle references and powerful semantic overtones.