John Huston would release his film based on James Joyce’s short story and then he would join The Dead. The last film of the legendary, rascally director would be a poetic rumination on the past as well as family. Fitting since the film would be a family affair.
Gabriel and Gretta Conroy (Donal McCann and Anjelica Huston), a young couple in early 1900s Dublin, are enjoying a holiday party when Gretta suddenly has poignant memories of a deceased former love.
In 1904, sisters Kate (Helena Carroll) and Julia (Cathleen Delany) Morkan and their niece Mary Jane (Ingrid Craigie) are throwing their annual party for the Feast of the Epiphany (fitting considering the finale). Their nephew Gabriel Conroy (Donal McCann) attends with his wife Greta (Anjelica Huston) also attends.
The other guests include the drunkard Freddy Malins (Donal Donnelly) and his mother Mrs. Malins (Marie Kean), politically active Miss Ivors (Maria McDermottroe), the theatrical Mr. Grace (Sean McClory), tenor Mr. D’Arcy (Frank Patterson), the only Protestant Mr. Browne (Dan O’Herlihy), amongst others. The party goes on, but it’s what happens after the party as to the true nature of the film.
John Huston would direct the Dead from his deathbed. Well, a wheelchair and with oxygen tubes trailing behind him. The film would be finished, Huston would die in August 1987, and this final film would arrive in theaters in December of the same year.
He began with a bang (directing the Maltese Falcon) and he would go out on a somber, poignant note, but not a whimper. The film would go on to be nominated for best costume design and best screenplay. It won neither, but it’s a deeply personal picture as a final farewell from the wily director.
Huston’s son Tony would adapt Joyce’s short story and daughter Anjelica in a plumb role. It would appear that she is not going to have a big part, but by the end of the picture she’s given a chance to act marvelously. A final gift from her father perhaps? The film is definitely an actor’s picture as the plot plays out in the lines of the characters.
Those expecting this to be the next zombie masterwork will be thoroughly disappointed. The dinner party is a long buildup to the scene between Gabriel and Greta. It’s brought on by the impromptu performance of Mr. D’Arcy after the party has ended that draws up memories of Greta’s past and a remembrance that causes Gabriel to have an inner monologue.
All the acting in the film is a tour-de-force and Huston orchestrates everyone with the experience of being a master of his craft. It may be slow when we look at it with our modern eyes, but a craftsman of quality who used his final breaths to make a lasting testament made it. Better this than Annie to have as your last film.
However, Lionsgate dropped the ball besides the lack of special features (and garish cover), in that they put the film out in November in a truncated version that loses 10 minutes of footage that introduces characters, thereby giving them more depth, before the dinner party.
They have rectified the situation and quickly pulled the first release from the market and had an exchange program for those that got a defective copy.
The Dead is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. The only special features are previews for other Lionsgate products. A sad state of affairs indeed as it would’ve been a golden opportunity to look back on Huston’s career, maybe an interview with Angelica or Tony, or even a text bio of James Joyce.
Instead there’s nothing and a garish cover to boot. I though the cover was more fitting of The Witches than of the film that it contained. Not as much care has been put into special features as Huston put into the film.
An excellent topper to Huston’s career and a thoughtful, leisurely paced film. The film looks wonderful on DVD, but it would’ve been nice for some retrospectives of Huston’s career or Joyce’s novella. If you were holding off because of the reported defects of the film then you’re free to buy now that Lionsgate has rectified their first mistake.
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