Dead Again

Back in the 1980's Masterpiece Theatre presented a seven part program called the "Fortune's of War." It starred among others Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. This supposedly was the first meeting of the pair and resulted in a marriage two years later. It was a series set initially in the Balkans, specifically Rumania, and involved British members of government and private citizens and their relationships and experiences in World War II. The initial series moved to Greece after the Germans moved into the Balkans. When the Germans next moved into the Greek peninsula, the series moved to Egypt where the Brits were enveloped in the war in North Africa and Near East. It was a terrific series and provided an perfect introduction to the skills in acting, directing, producing and writing of Branagh and Thompson.

Through the years both together and separately have provided a wide range of performances. Branagh, in particular, did Shakespeare with great flair including "Henry V" a really worthy yet very different interpretation than that of Olivier's Academy Award winning version of the 1940's. Branagh also did "Hamlet" and a particularly humorous version of "Much Ado About Nothing." Wife Emma had key roles in both the latter film and Henvy V. Branagh also provided versatility with a very different performance in the Australian based film "Rabbit Proof Fence," a story about the Crown's nearly perfect example of how to do things wrong to the native Australian people and those children who were products of both cultures. In "Peter's Friends" he worked again with Emma Thompson and some of their earlier pre-film friends Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in a really nice film that encompassed Christmas and a lovely rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight," with Laurie playing the piano and Imelda Staunton singing lead.

Thompson had an even more extensive career in films including besides those mentioned above "The Remains of the Day," in which she co-starred with Anthony Hopkins. In "Love Actually" she played the sister of the British Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant in a film that had only about twelve other well known co-stars. It's a really nice Christmas film. Her most famous effort was in Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility" where she played the elder Dashwood sister and in which she also wrote the script. She not only played leads but in the film "An Education" she played the principal of a girls school in Britain who had to deal with a student, an outstanding student, who was seduced by a married con-artist. It's another excellent effort. Carey Mulligan plays the unfortunate school girl. And finally it should be remembered that Thompson also played again most successfully with Anthony Hopkins in E. M. Forester's classic novel "Howard's End,"

In "Dead Again" Branagh and Thompson appear together again in a film that is part mystery and part fantasy. And, interestingly enough, the two Brits easily handle American accents required for it's setting in the United States, Los Angeles to be exact. The picture's fantasy is a depiction of reincarnation, or perhaps not really reincarnation. It is really difficult to tell. In it both actors play two roles. Branagh in the early part which is shot in black and white plays Roman Strauss, a famous conductor of the Los Angeles symphony orchestra who is married to an outstanding pianist, Margaret. Forty years later Branagh plays, this time in color, a private eye named Mike Church hired to try to identify a young woman who has wandered into a Catholic School and who has lost her memory. The pictures concept is that the woman is the re-incarnation of Margaret the pianist who was murdered back in the 1940's a crime that was committed by her husband the conductor who was executed for the murder.

The supposition is played out with Branagh as detective Mike, watching out for Thompson known as Grace in this part of the story. After she is refused admittance back at the Catholic facility he takes her into his home and eventually decides to run an ad in the L.A. Times with a picture in an attempt to identify the person. The first person answering the ad is an antique shop dealer, Derick Jacoby, who also is apparently a hypnotist. He is finally hired to see if he can coach Grace out of her amnesia in order to see if she can then identify herself.

This process is an important part of the film and eventually we learn more about who Grace is and what her real name is and what leads up to an amazing confrontation at Branagh's house where the truth or at least some of is resolved. Believe me, the film is very interesting in the development of this eventual closure or semi-closure of the films issues.

Several other people are of interest in the film. Cuban-American Andy Garcia has an important role as an L.A. newspaper man who wrote extensively about the case at the time of the murder. Campbell Scott has a small role as man who attempts to prove he knows who Grace is. Miriam Gargolyes is very amusing as a woman hypnotised by Jacobi who apparently uses his hypnotic skills to identify and locate antique items. And finally Hannah Schygulla plays Jacobi's mother. There are also short segments involving Wayne Knight known principally as Jerry Seinfeld's irritating mail carrier neighbor and Robin Williams.

For an Angeleno and one who lived largely in much of the area where the film is shot it is an extra pleasure. Branagh's house is an interesting Mission style residence located on the side of hill with a tower supposedly holding a staircase. The actual house is about three blocks from Marshall high school in L.A. where I attended in the early 40's. Also a part of the action is filmed on the so-called Shakespeare Bridge which is just another block away. The bridge is over a small gorge which leads out to what eventually became the site of ABC television studios and which earlier had been the site of the Vitagraph film company. The tower structure elevator is located just off Highland avenue in Hollywood and is not a part of the Branagh residence in the film.

The park where Branagh and Thompson visit next to a lake is Echo Park Lake. The old Pacific Electric subway line ran by here before it's one mile journey underground to downtown Los Angeles. The Echo Park district which when the film was shot was a somewhat rundown area has now been revitalized. Old structures there were rebuilt and modernized. It's kind of an in place to live for those who like a more avant-garde environment.

I might also note that Branagh as detective Mike drives a beautiful Chevrolet Corvette of earlier vintage. One of my best friends had exactly the same car and I remember greatly admiring it.

You do not have to be a resident of L.A. to enjoy this film. You can watch it and wonder what it all means and the meanings of the reincarnation episodes as to whether they existed or were just a demonstration of interesting story telling.