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Familiar character actors such as Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen, John Hurt, and Billy Bob Thornton have small roles. Punk-rock legend Iggy Pop even has a cameo. The fuzz-guitar soundtrack is provided by Neil Young.
How others will see it. Director Jim Jarmusch has a broad cult following, and Depp has somehow managed to achieve both box office success and critical acclaim. Dead Man is filmed in black and white, which will alienate some, and the story is apt to make little sense to those who wander in late. Some patience is required to enjoy this quirky Western adventure.
How I felt about it. Once he shoots Robert Mitchum's son, Gabriel Byrne, Depp is a dead man. It's only a matter of time, whether it comes from his chest wound, a hangman's noose, a bounty hunter, deprivation in the wilderness, or an Indian attack.
Curiously, Depp never seems to appreciate the trouble he's in. He only gets agitated once, when he realizes the accounting position won't be his. Getting stalked by Federal marshals is nothing in comparison.
Depp is also oddly willing to follow the instructions of his new mentor, Farmer, who says he's to become "a killer of white men." Depp apparently accepts this at face value. Depp also goes along with Farmer's plan to ship off to sea alone in a canoe without food or fresh water, but by then he's pretty much given things up.
Depp isn't one to shake up another's plan, regardless of whether it is practical or strange. But, what is Farmer's motivation. First, he finds Depp and tries to save his life. Then, he gets excited when he realizes Depp is a killer, perhaps a serial killer, and believes his mission to kill white men is divine.
But while Farmer thinks its fine for Depp to kill the white man, he also believes that Depp is a goner, and tries to help the process along by not tending Depp's wounds, or giving him food or water. Instead, he wants to construct a seaworthy canoe, stock it with impractical goodies, and send it off with Depp to serve as his casket. Perhaps The Great Spirit also asks for tobacco (the film's running gag) and might even require it as a ticket to the afterlife.
Farmer's attitude toward Depp as a "stupid white man" changes once he confuses Depp with famous English poet William Blake. That Blake, of course, was a different one, and long dead as well, but Farmer's limited understanding of the white world can't conceive that two different people could have the same name.
Dead Man's "strange in the range" western takes a turn toward black comedy by introducing three bounty hunters, one of whom sleeps with a teddy bear and talks incessantly. Another is a cold-blooded killer. These bounty hunters cannot co-exist, which explains why they have previously worked alone. Their profession gives them too little regard for the lives of others.