Dead Man vs In The Company of Men
Dead ManThere is much to like about this movie. Sharp, beautiful black and white cinematography; A sound track that really works wonderfully; Bizarre characters that were fun to watch; and a story that befitting any good western. So are you waiting for the other shoe to drop? Well, it's the pacing. It's too slow. I was nearly entranced with the first half, interested in the third quarter, and getting very restless for the last 20 minutes. Ultimately, what does one make of this film? My experience with it paralleled that of the main character, a steadily fading interest for a steadily fading man.
In The Company of MenEckhart plays one despicable son of a b****; It's a great performance. So convincing, it's seems fortunate that he's not been typecast. Stacy Edwards performance is also remarkable. To find out afterwards that she is not deaf at all was surprising. And my god, she's beautiful. Too beautiful actually. Trying to imagine a woman like her being completely innocent in the ways of the world was a stretch. All of the characters are exaggerated really, but it's nothing major. The movie itself is not much an eye opener by today's standards. It feels like the cutthroat, cold-hearted business world thing has been covered a lot. Even though it isn't a fresh concept, I still found myself interested in how it was all going to play out. I would've liked to have had a character to root for, and you would think Edwards would be that character, but even she didn't get much sympathy. I wanted someone to get what they had coming to them, but that didn't really happen either (unlike, say, Closer. You may hate them all, but at least they get their comeuppance in turn). In the end this movie didn't provide any great insights previously undiscovered, but I appreciated it.
VerdictDead Man will stay with me. While not wholly enjoying it, it gave me something to chew on, to ponder. I like that. I think I could even revisit it in time, which is no small compliment. I would likely choose to break it up into 2 viewings though.
Dead Man wins by way of intellectual knockout.