The Dead Zone

Sunday, January 20, 2008

This is the saddest movie ever adapted from a Stephen King book, and it has one of Christopher Walken's best performances. He plays a man who awakens from a 5 year coma to find his fiancee married to another man, his job gone, and his youth ended. He also wakes up with the ability to see into the future, but it proves more of a burden than a gift.

David Cronenberg directed this one, and even though it's one of his most mainstream, it's also one of my favorites of his. Of course, it's got his great visual style and sense of the macabre, and it's a pretty exciting genre film all around. Despite the fantastical premise, Cronenberg keeps it feeling grounded, real and serious. The only misstep (and I think what holds it back from being a great film) is with the subplot about a crazy politician who may one day destroy the world, because it's too silly compared to the rest of the movie. Martin Sheen's over-the-top performance as the politician doesn't help, although I suppose he did the best he could with weak material.

Like I said, it's an excellent genre film, but it's really the sadness and pathos that it achieves that make it stand out. I tend to admire Cronenberg for his fucked up visual imagination, but you got to give the guy credit for infusing many of his films with a strong emotional core. The Dead Zone has some real power, because of the tragedy Cronenberg and Walken express through the main character. What becomes clear is that things would be better for Walken's character if he never awoke from the coma. And the movie's "happy" ending can only be achieved with his death.

But if you're not into Cronenberg for his art, there's a sweet part where a guy commits suicide with a pair of scissors.