Dead Again
Tags: comedy, mystery, neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, humor, romantic, suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
Newspapers detail the 1949 murder of Margaret Strauss (Emma Thompson), who was stabbed during a robbery; her anklet is missing. Her husband, composer Roman Strauss (Kenneth Branagh), is found guilty of the crime and condemned to death. Before his execution, Roman is visited by reporter Gray Baker (Andy Garcia). Asked if he killed Margaret, Roman whispers in Gray’s ear; Baker does not disclose Roman's answer.
Forty years later, private detective Mike Church (Branagh) investigates the identity of a woman who has appeared at the orphanage where he grew up. She has amnesia, cannot speak and has nightmares. Mike takes her in and asks his friend, Pete Dugan (Wayne Knight), to publish her picture and his contact information. Antiques dealer and hypnotist Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi) approaches Mike, suggesting that hypnosis may help her recover her memory. When the session is unsuccessful, Madson suggests that they experiment with past life regression. Mike is skeptical, but the woman details Margaret and Roman's lives in third person, from courtship to their wedding. When the session ends, she can speak but still has amnesia. Madson shows them copies of Life from the murder; Mike and the woman bear a striking resemblance to Roman and Margaret. Mike visits disgraced psychiatrist Cozy Carlisle (Robin Williams), who insists that they continue to see Madson; delving into the problems between Margaret and Roman may resolve her amnesia.
Mike nicknames the woman "Grace", and falls in love with her. Doug (Campbell Scott) appears and claims that Grace is his fiancée Katherine, but Mike discovers he is lying and chases him away. Hypnotized, Grace remembers that Roman suffers from writer's block and is broke. He believes that Margaret is flirting with Baker, whom she met on their wedding day. Margaret cannot convince Roman that she is faithful and catches Frankie, the son of their housekeeper Inga, looking through her jewelry box. She asks Roman to dismiss them but Roman refuses, saying that they saved his life in Germany.
Grace sees Mike standing over Margaret with scissors, and is convinced he intends to kill her. Mike insists that he would never hurt her, but when he accidentally calls her "Margaret", he agrees to let Madson regress him.
Dugan tells Mike that he has identified Grace as artist Amanda Sharp. Amanda, still afraid of Mike, accompanies Pete and Madson to her apartment; her artwork focuses on scissors. Madson gives her a gun to protect herself from Mike. Mike visits Baker in a nursing home and asks him about Roman's secret, but Baker insists that Roman said nothing to him. Baker is convinced that Roman did not kill his wife and urges Mike to find Inga, who would know what happened.
Mike realizes that Madson is Frankie; he questions Inga, who explains that she declared her love for Roman, but he rebuffed her advances. Frankie blamed Margaret for his mother's unhappiness and killed her with scissors; he then stole her anklet. Roman stumbled in, and was found covered in his wife's blood and holding the murder weapon. After Roman's execution, Inga brought Frankie to London; he learned about hypnotherapy and past-life regression. After returning to Los Angeles, Frankie was convinced that Margaret’s spirit would seek revenge. When he saw Amanda’s picture in the paper, he knew she has returned. He hired Doug, an actor, to separate Mike and Amanda and distract Amanda while he waited to kill her. Inga apologizes for her role in Margaret's death, and gives Mike the anklet. After Mike leaves to find Amanda, Madson smothers Inga with a pillow.
Mike tells Amanda the truth; terrified, she shoots him. Madson arrives, revealing his true identity; Amanda tries to shoot him, but the gun jams and he knocks her out. He puts the scissors he used to kill Margaret in Mike's hand and tries to make it look like Amanda killed him and committed suicide. Mike wakes up and stabs Madson in the leg with the scissors. Madson falls onto a scissors sculpture, which impales and kills him. Mike and Amanda then embrace.

Review: Although he received tremendous praise for his memorable film production of Shakespeare's HENRY V, DEAD AGAIN was the film that really introduced actor/director Kenneth Branagh to mainstream American film, and for a time he and then-wife Emma Thompson were the most celebrated acting couple since Olivier and Leigh.
Scott Frank's clever script makes for a fast-paced, twisting, and fascinating plot-driven film--and it is flawlessly played by Branagh and Thompson, who assume dual roles as the 1940s Roman and Margaret Strauss and the 1980s Mike Church and Grace.
The shifts between past and present, nightmare and reality are exceedingly well done, and although the plot becomes more and more fantastic the entire film is so perfectly executed that one buys into it every step of the way.If DEAD AGAIN has a flaw, it is that some of the twists and turns are predictable--but in the film's favor I must admit that it sweeps you along so quickly that you seldom have time to analyze that failing while you actually watch the film.
Trying to work à la Hitchcock is a very perilous task:Kenneth Branagh walks out with honors.The numerous influences and nods are interesting:"Notorious" "Rebecca" "Spellbound" "Vertigo""dial M for murder" come to mind but there are certainly more...Brannagh is a pupil who assimilates things easily.He's helped by a stellar cast:his then-wife Emma Thompson,really beautiful,Hanna Shygulla ,in an underwritten part ,Robin Williams,Campbell Scott,Andy Garcia -You want to stop smoking?Have a look at his last scene!-....
The marvelously far-fetched plot grabs the audience till the very end as the two stories meet.Brannagh and Thompson succeeded in creating two characters each .The director cleverly uses in turn color (present) and black and white (past).The finale in the flat where the amnesic girl keeps her surrealist works (a la Dali,like in "spellbound" ) is grand guignol at its best.That's entertainment!.
The opening credits show 1948 news stories about symphony conductor, Roman Strauss (Kenneth Branagh), who was executed for murdering his wife, Margaret (Emma Thompson).
As fate would have it, Mike and Grace grow closer and fall in love, an event that is undoubtedly made more convincing by the fact that Branagh and Watson were happily married at the time that the film was made.
Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (who were then married)each played two roles, one in the past, one in the present, with different clothes, hairstyles and accents, as part of a couple destined to be together forever.Branagh, coming off his rookie directing debut in HENRY V, did a simply beautiful job here, using the same creative team as HV (Patrick Doyle deserves especial kudos for his astounding musical score).
Playing both a cynical private eye ("I'm not looking for Miss Right; I'm looking for Miss Right Now") and a jealous German composer from the 1940's, he turns in two complete portraits of unusual men, while directing as well.The film didn't stay in theaters long (most likely due to studio politics), but has apparently found a new audience on video.
Grace, Emma Thompson,has been in this Catholic sanitarium, Saint Audrey's, since she was found wandering aimlessly on the streets of L.A. With the church not being able to keep or care for her any longer due to her deteriorating mental condition the church's administrator Father Thimothy, Richard Easton,calls a former parishioner Private eye Mike Church, Kenneth Branagh.
Mike and his assistant Pete(Wayne Knight), who later in the film makes one of the most jolting as well as unsuspecting guest appearances in motion picture history, get in touch with former psychiatrist and now grocery store owner Cozy Carlisle, Robin Williams, an expert in past-life regression.
It's then where the truth about Grace/Margrate suddenly explodes right in your face leaving you, like it did both Grace & Mike Church, in a state of shock.Crossing different lives and time periods "Dead Again" in its concluding moments comes to a startling and paranormal rendezvous.
Supporting players Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams, and Andy Garcia put in excellent performances, and the serviceable plot is made transcendant by this fine group of actors.
(We 'know', owing to black and white footage (featuring the same actors, but different characters, about 40 years ago, shortly after WW II) Through hypnotherapy, questions of reincarnation and past lives emerge.The film creates, rather than answers, questions.
Here's a few brief comments, which I don't except will be well-received, but.....The GOOD - It's always a treat to see Emma Thompson on the silver screen, especially when she plays her '40s "Margaret" character in this film.
This was the first movie I saw with Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson and I loved their on-screen chemistry.
Emma Thompson, always a fine actress in almost all of her films, easily tugs at viewers' sympathy by subtly projecting the vulnerability of her character.My favorite, however, is Derek Jacobi who very convincingly essays the role of a middle aged but handsome sophisticated and knowledgeable antiquarian.I already said I liked this movie but I didn't go crazy over it.
But if you're looking for influences of Hitchcock and other master directors of thrillers, there's fun in repeated viewings.If you like films dealing with possible reincarnation and crime, you should also see Chances Are with Cybill Shepherd in the the lead.
The main problem lies with the flawed story but the movie has got a rather cheap and dated look, too.The script is full of plot holes, forced mysteries, riddles that are thrown in to keep the viewer puzzled but don't really make any sense at all.
(I will not reveal it, for there IS a good plot twist leading up to it.)Dead Again sports many familiar faces: Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (real life husband-and-wife), Wayne Knight (Newman in a reincarnation flick??!), and even Robin Williams (who knew?) Branagh is especially charming as Roman--his meeting with pianist Margaret while madly directing the symphony is memorable.
In the follow up to his acclaimed 'Henry V', actor-director Kenneth Branagh trades high culture for low rent thrills, playing an LA detective hired to learn the identity of a mute amnesia victim (Emma Thompson) suffering nightmares of a much publicized murder case from the late 1940s.
Both Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson did a nice work splitting in two characters with two personalities each, with two different accents...
The plot is convoluted, the acting is overwrought (Branagh and Thompson affecting fake American accents, Andy Garcia trying to be a hardboiled newspaper man with a smoking problem) and the whole thing is tedious and dull, despite attempts by the oppressive soundtrack to keep viewers awake.
And don't tell me he wasn't doing more than a touch of Olivier in _Rebecca (1940)_qv in his black and white scenes - Branagh's sense of humor is just one of the joys of this totally surprising, enthralling, suspenseful and fun film.
DEAD AGAIN (1991) **** Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Andy Garcia.
Brit wunderkind Branagh directs and stars with deft style this psychological thriller with him as a contemporary detective in LA trying to solve a case of a woman with amnesia with the results including reincarnation and many plot twists.
In the midpoint where some things gets revealed, suspense picks up and one is put on the edge of their seat and guessing who did it and why until the end.The only caveat I had was the final way the character died is so over the top, that you don't breathe a sight of relief that you should have.But besides that issue, it is a movie definitely worth watching..
On the other hand, a good romance with attractive people hits my sucker button every time.Put these two elements on the balance and you have "Dead Again" a surprisingly intelligent thriller/romance with incredibly lush, if one can use the word in this sense, Black and White photography that makes you yearn in earnest for the good old days.Though the photographer/friend was obnoxious and Robin Williams was playing, thankfully in a cameo, one of his typically annoying roles, a demented over sexed Patch Adams meets the guy from Good Will Hunting, the rest of the cast was so marvelous and Emma and Kenneth never looked so good..
An amnesiac (Emma Thompson) and a private eye (Kenneth Branagh) find they might have a past life connection.Somehow this film ended up on my list of horror and thriller films to see.
Any time Wayne Knight gets to be anyone other than Newman or the villain in "Jurassic Park" is a good thing.Although I would not recommend to this to anyone looking for a thriller, it is a better than average movie that seems to have slipped through the cracks.
We couldn't put ourselves in her shoes — no one has had a tea party with a zany hat enthusiast (except maybe Liza Minnelli or some other unpredictable broad) — but we were more than willing to act as a sidekick during her so-called journey.Kenneth Branagh, more or less, asks us to do the same thing with Dead Again, a mystery/thriller/fantasy/romance/film noir (yes, it is comprised of that many genres) that spirals into the realms of lustrous cinema, defying explanation.
The segments that make up 1948-1949 portion are in black and white flashbacks, and focus on the tragic love affair of music composer and conductor Roman (Kenneth Branagh) and pianist Margaret Strauss (Emma Thompson).
Thanks to Kenneth Branagh in a dual role as a classical composer and a Los Angeles private eye, Emma Thompson as a stricken waif (who may be the reincarnation of a murder victim,) Robin Williams as a certifiably insane defrocked psychiatrist currently hauling cartons in a supermarket and Derek Jacobi as an antique dealer cum hypnotist, it's well worth watching.
This film tells the story of a private detective who enlists the help of a hypnotist to help a woman who suffers from amnesia.The title "Dead Again" gives the plot away a bit, but there is still a lot of suspense and thrill in the plot.
Still Dead Again is stylish, dark and entertaining, with stunning cinematography and film noir and Hitchockian elements, eccentric plotting, the usual twists and turns and a good script.Another strong asset was the score, the opening theme was very bombastic and haunting.
Kenneth Branagh acquits himself well in a very difficult dual role, one of the cynical LA private detective and the other of the composer executed for the murder of his wife back in 1949, while Emma Thompson is terrific also in a dual role as an amnesiac woman obsessed with scissors and is suffering from nightmares of somebody else's life and the composer's wife.Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams and Wayne Knight are also fine in their supporting roles, Jacobi especially.
A hypnotist named Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi) offers to help, and under hypnosis, she begins revealing an interesting story from the past: the high profile murder of Margaret Strauss (Emma Thompson) by her husband, Roman (Kenneth Branagh).
But his love letter to film noir is also an suspenseful entry into the genre, and the plot (from a script penned by Scott Frank) is twisted enough to bring back memories of those potboilers.Suspenseful and emotionally effective, "Dead Again" is forgotten thriller that should be better known than it is..
And, while the "modern" scenes are now a little dated (the film has a parallel storyline set in the 1940s), it's still quite enjoyable.Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, best known for their Shakespeare adaptations, co-star in this 80s style thriller crossed with 40s style film noir.
It's highly recommended to fans of both those genres - though like most supernatural thrillers, one must suspend disbelief in the supernatural premise to fully enjoy it.Great supporting cast made up of talented character actors helps move things along, and while there are some lame attempts at humor, they're more quirky than cringe-inducing.The music score is essential to this one, so be sure to have a good stereo set up!.
I've actually felt those shivers, especially when Emma Thompson's character accused Mike Church (Ken Branagh) for killing her in their previous life and started living alone.
It's always a delight to have Kenneth Branagh as director and actor in the same time, and this movie, as overlooked as it is, is such a good example of his talent in thrillers, too.
I liked all the subtle things Kenneth Branagh put into this movie to give some clues about the identities of Grace and Mike.
Kenneth Branagh plays a private detective (Mike) who comes across a woman who has amnesia-she can't remember anything(played by Emma Thompson).
After his brilliant début as a director with Henry V, director and actor Kenneth Branagh measures himself with mystery, in a good movie in which the mystery plot is combined with supernatural elements.
How this turgid slop can rate above 6 on IMDb is completely beyond me.This movie has an exceptional cast and looks to have an interesting storyline so one should expect to be entertained.The first warning that things have gone awry comes in the opening scene when you discover that Kenneth Branagh, THE Kenneth Branagh of so many magnificent films, is playing a hokey gumshoe detective and has adopted a terrible American accent.The plot turns out to be entirely predictable and the entire cast seem to simply be going through the motions, perhaps knowing that this movie is not going to count among their finer works.Kenneth Branagh is terrible.
In this splendid psychological thriller, a murder from the past haunts a present day woman named Grace, wonderfully played by Emma Thompson.
OK I'm giving this 9 stars not only because it's a great film but mainly because Emma Thompson.This woman is a genius and probably the best modern actress out there today.I knew the killer was Frankie in this movie he was SO creepy and yet I have to say a great actor.The acting in this was superb.Question why do the Brit's have much better actors than the Americans?You have to say they always deliver!oh well I'm making this one a short review because I love anything that Emma Thompson is in.I wish she would do a bit more these days but then again there is not much out there for women.As a woman I'm finding this a bit tiresome what's wrong with Hollywood?.
Robin Williams was also great as a psychiatrist kicked out for enjoying his work too much.Any more would be spoiling a very interesting story that is well worth the time spent watching..
Kenneth Branagh,(Roman Strauss/Mike Church),"Warm Springs",'05 TV, plays the role of a famous pianist who has reached the top of his career and is deeply in love with his wife.
Emma Thompson,(Grace/Margaret Strauss),"Nanny McPhee",'05, gives a great performance as his wife and everything seems like a normal, happy life together.
The fine humor sense used in some scenes can even made this movie funny sometimes.Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thompson have incredible chemistry together, and the script is perfect.
The chemistry between the two actors (Branagh & Thompson) and the idea of a love that transcends death makes this movie one of the most romantic I have ever seen- even though it is billed as a thriller.If you want an academically sound movie, this is not for you.
I'm boring myself so I'm going to stop.Thank goodness the brilliant Emma Thompson escaped the much over-rated Brannagh's influence.After all, we can all point and click the camera at a decent cast, and direct by numbers.As for Kenneth's acting, he was the right face, the right age at the right time.
But "Dead Again", while starting off with a good idea, went a bit too far.Branagh plays detective Mike Church.
These unfortunates aside, the film has some good acting by Thompson and Branagh himself.
Dead Again was the film that really introduced actor/director Kenneth Branagh to mainstream American film, and for a time he and then, wife Emma Thompson were the most celebrated acting couple since Olivier and Leigh.
The supporting cast is also excellent, with memorable performances by Andy Garcia and Derek Jacobi and a truly exceptional cameo by Robin Williams, who here for the first time demonstrated that his talents went far beyond comedy.
The supporting cast is also excellent, with memorable performances by Andy Garcia and Derek Jacobi and a truly exceptional cameo by Robin Williams, who here for the first time demonstrated that his talents went far beyond comedy.
Once it was over I felt like I wasted my time.If you want a good mystery with great twists, watch Wild Things.
Rough California detective Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) takes on the case of a mysterious woman (then wife Emma Thompson) who can't seem to remember who she is.
With the help of a doctor (Derek Jacobi) she comes to realize she might be the reincarnation of Margaret Strauss (also Thompson) who was supposedly murdered by her husband (Branagh) back in 1949.
I've only seen Kenneth Branagh in a few movies here and there, and he seems to be a good actor.
The scene in particular that I have in mind is the scene where Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) and Amanda Sharp (Emma Thompson) are looking at the old photos of the people that look exactly like them.
Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi and Robin Williams are all brilliant in their roles.
The acting was superb, especially the main characters played by Branagh, Thompson and Jacobi and the alternating between the present life and the past (black & white) was a really clever effect.I liked how the film unravelled in its own way, at its own pace, instead of employing cliches to handle difficult parts of the plot.
Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again starts off promising enough with it's film noirsh like premise.
To reveal much else would be to ruin the movie, and I can't do that.Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, and Robin Williams highlight a remarkable cast and a remarkable film.
But towards the end and through the film, you discover that Mike Church (Branagh) really is American, and that he and Grace (Thompson) have somehow swapped bodies after death.