Dead Man's Party

Author: Chris K.
Location: AZ

“Dead Man’s Party”

Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot

Main Cast
Hugh Laurie as Johnny “The Lad” Rogers
Jackie Earle Haley as Ralph “Rip Jack” Tom
Elliot Yamin as Simon “Squirrelly” Johnson
Glenn Close as Warden Josephine

Tagline: “Leave your body and soul at the door”

Synopsis: Johnny was bad, even as a child everybody could tell everyone said if you don't get straight “You'll surely go to hell.” But Johnny didn't care he was an outlaw by the time that he was ten years old. He didn't wanna do what he was told just a prankster, a juvenile gangster. His teachers didn't understand they kicked him out of school at a tender early age just because he didn't want to learn things (Had other interests) He liked to burn things. The lady down the block, She had a radio that Johnny wanted oh so bad. So he took it the first chance he had then he shot her in the leg and this is what she said ”Only a lad. You really can't blame him. Society made him. He really couldn't help it. He didn't want to do it. He's underprivileged and abused perhaps a little bit confused” His parents gave up they couldn't influence his attitude. Nobody could help, the little man had no gratitude. When he stole the car nobody dreamed that he would try to take it so far he didn't mean to hit the poor man. Who had to go and die? It made the judge cry “Only a lad, He really couldn't help it, He didn't want to do it, He's underprivileged and abused perhaps a little bit confused.” It's not his fault that he can't behave. Society made him go astray perhaps if we're nice he'll go away. Hey there Johnny you really don't fool me. You get away with murder and you think it's funny. You don't give a damn if we live or if we die. Hey there Johnny boy I hope you fry!

Twenty years later after his most recent arrest for murder, Johnny “The Lad” is living his final day before his execution is set to begin.

7: 00 AM, 41 hours till his execution. Rooming with the mysterious Ralph “Rip Jack” Tom, who for the last 2 months refuses to tell Johnny his reason for being in jail. Warden Josephine, the defined evil bitch of this punishment facility, brings all the inmates out to the courtyard. Brings out a squirrelly young man, known as Simon, the Warden announces to the inmates Simon has been doing some…bad things involving the misfortune of inmates. After asking his reasoning for humiliating these fellow inmates, she begins to beat him incessantly. The crowd of inmates, instead of being appalled, seemed delighted even , Johnny in fact seems to want more…

I don't know why I feel this way. I don't know if it's right or wrong to laugh at misfortune, darkness can never last too long. Every time I think I'm falling and there's nobody around to hold me up. It seems like the world has come to an end. I look for miles but not a face is friendly then suddenly a hole opens up in the ground. The bottom of the hole is a raging fire, I try to jump over but there's no way; the next thing I know, I'm going down. The last time that I fell in love, the love was milk and honey but the milk turned sour. The woman became a monster and everyone I knew had become a stranger. The room went black and my luck was spent. Remembering when I was a young man. How everything seemed to turn against me. I didn't know a soul, it was an alien place. The sun was covered by a dark cloud and though I tried, I couldn't find a way to escape. The only way to go was straight down.

12:00 Noon 36 hours till his execution. It’s the usual for lunch, as it is every day. Creamed corn, mashed potatoes, and whatever the slop was made up. Surprisingly the slop was Johnny’s favorite part of lunch, except for some odd reason people wanted his company today. Even the little man, Simon, decided to join. Curious as to what he did, they begin to seemingly interrogate and probe him until he finally lets loose his inner self to them.

Here's something to think about, where would we be now without nasty habits? Life would be so dull without nasty habits. All those naughty little things that we don't discuss publicly; Tell me your secrets, does it please you to employ little girls or little boys. Do you like to romp and play by yourself when they're away? Do you peek at magazines filled with doggies and leather queens? Tell me your secrets that no one should hear, whisper them softly into my ear I won't tell, People act so proper when they're going 'bout their business. Cup of coffee, friendly conversation until they get home takes the phone off, lock the door and shut the curtains. Make sure that the neighbors are without suspicion. No one must know what I do when I'm all alone, nasty habits I'm so ashamed. No one knows what I do when I'm all alone but we must not let that stop our little game. Nasty habits here to stay now they'll never go away; Try and stop you'll have to pay.

8:00 PM 28 hours till his execution. Johnny and Ralph are within their cell, lights are dim and they are playing poker with half a deck. The game slowly continues as light conversation is made, the Warden walks by and raps the bars, startling the two. Then Ralph, through some inner demon, decides to break in front of Johnny. As sweat pours down his face, Ralph decides to tell him the reason of his jail sentence.

I love little girls they make me feel so good, so bad. When they're around they make me feel like I'm the only guy in town. I love little girls they make me feel so good. They don't care if I'm a one way mirror; they’re not frightened by my cold exterior. They don't ask me questions, don't want to scold me, don't look for answers, they just want to hold me. Isn't this fun, Isn't this what life's all about, Isn't this a dream come true, Isn't this a nightmare too. They don't care about my inclinations and they're not frightened by my revelations. Uh oh take a second take, Uh oh it's a mistake, Uh oh I'm in trouble. Uh oh the little girl was just to little. Isn't this what life's all about, Isn't this a dream come true, Isn't this a nightmare too . . . And I don't care what people say, I don't care what people think, I don't care how we look walking down the street.

9:00 AM 15 hours till his execution. Warden Josephine and Johnny are being called in for a final meeting to decide whether or not the state Supreme Court may allow him to be spared. Johnny is apathetic towards the judges, his lawyer seemingly asleep during the proceeding. Warden Josephine explains why Johnny is Insane and instead of a mental facility or a life sentence, except that the death penalty is the correct path.

I'm so sorry, please forgive me, who do I pray to straighten out this problem? Straighten out this problem, straighten out my mind. Straighten out this crooked tongue... My mind has wandered, from the straight and narrow. My mind has wandered from the flock, you see? My mind has wandered, the man just said so. My mind has wandered, I heard it on TV and the flock has wandered away from me now. I am the virus, are you the cure? I am morally, I'm morally impure. I am a disease and I am unclean. I am not part of God's well oiled machine. Christian nation, assimilate me. Take me in your arms and set me free. I am part of a degenerate elite. Dragging our society into the street, into the abyss and to the sewer don't you see. The man just told me, he told me on TV. Do you think you're better than me? Do you want to kill me or befriend me? I'd love to see inside your mind and tear it all apart. To cut you open with a knife and find your sacred heart, I'd love to take your satin dolls and tear them all to shreds. I'd love to mess your pretty hair, I'd love to see you dead.

11:50 10 minutes till his execution. Warden Josephine is within the chamber along with Johnny who is lying on the slab awaiting the injection. Ralph and Simon are both watching from the outside. Only a single reporter has come from a tiny outlet in a nowhere town of around 200 people. No family, no friends, no demonstrators, no one except for the two insane prisoners he befriended in the last two days. Dying alone and with no one Johnny somehow believes that it is his day.

I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go, walking with a dead man over my shoulder. It’s only me, waiting for an invitation to arrive. Going to a party where no one's still alive. I was struck by lighting walking down the street. I was hit by something last night in my sleep, It's a dead man's party. Who could ask for more? Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door. Leave your body and soul at the door… (Don't run away it's only me) Only me… Only me… All dressed up with nowhere to go walking with a dead man. Waiting for an invitation to arrive, walking with a dead man…Dead Man…Dead Man…I’ve got my best suit and my tie. Shiny silver dollar on either eye, I hear the chauffeur comin' to my door. Says there's room for maybe just one more… Don't run away it's only me, Don't be afraid of what you can't see, Don't run away it's only me… It’s only me… It’s only me… Don't be afraid of what you can't see. It’s only me…

What the Press would say:
A musical that takes place over two days, in a world that most take a blind eye, with music from a group whose music would consider…peculiar. Lets put together the quirkiest screenwriter of a generation, Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind) and a image, story driven, and thematic director, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) teaming up to do a musical off the music of Oingo Boingo. These two use the genius and insight of filmmaking to create a prison cell that only takes place in the span of two days into a stimulating portrayal of the decay prisons have become. A message driven through, prisons have simply become holding cells instead of their original intention of being correctional institutions of rehabilitating prisoners. The unique characters, stimulating plot, artful direction, and brilliant prose are all reasons that “Dead Mans Party” is an Academy contender this Oscar season.

Sam Mendes’s artful direction provides a depth of realization that prisons are falling apart and the people inside are being forgotten with them. No matter what characters he studies or explores Mendes creates a portrayal of a prose that brings the script breath of reality and an escape for the audience with his musical scenes, that induce memories of Bob Fosse (Cabaret). His best section of film was the end where he blends death, relapse, humility, fear, and acceptance all into a single musical scene that leaves the audience breathless. The smooth transition from a third person narrative where peoples minds are shut from us, to a world where the musical numbers begin, the point of view becomes a world that is explored from the performers mind. The audience begins to see the world each of them envisions for themselves, an interesting stylistic device that has put this film and its directors well in front of the pack.

Charlie Kaufman takes leaps of faith as a screenwriter with his previous works. Now he has jumped off the bridge and may not be brought back up. Instead he floats up to the top far above he was when he was falling. His prose turns a simple story of prisoners into a social narrative using acclaimed music to show the deterioration of the human spirit within the considered lowest forms of society. Using his quirkiness and stylistic devices Kaufman has brought another work that leaves audiences breathless with his character exploration and societal criticism of our treatment of lowest society, which is seemingly ignoring the problem, instead of correcting.

The performances of these actors are chilling, rewarding, and thought provoking in each of their respects. Hugh Laurie (House) is a singer who previously used his talents in Comedy instead he has transferred himself to film and a full blown musical as a criminal who has turned to a lifetime of crime from petty to criminal to despicable. His depression, thoughtfulness, and anger seeps into the audience with each minute getting closer to his death. Laurie has turned a character from a simple musical character into one of films most unique roles that has become intriguing to the academy as time goes on. The two male supporting performances are by two people not known for separate things. One is not known as a singer, the other an actor. First Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) has a single solo, is seen within just 30 minutes of film, and does not have the greatest voice to boot. Instead what he has is a wonderful performance where singing prowess is forgotten with a scary, disturbing, and strangely depressing character description. Elliot Yamin has only been a singer and was cast into a role where the music does not fit his style. Instead he performs a squirrelly, scared, and confused character into a remarkable performance as a sort of apprentice of sorts to our lead character. His strong singing, decent acting ability, and sympathetic nature give Yamin a decent chance of an academy award this season. The final performance is by Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction) as Warden Josephine who appears as a foreshadowing to a horrible occurrence or an insight to a character previously not seen. Close performs brilliantly as a woman who must be horrible in order to gain respect and is the first of her gender to defend male prisoners without incidence of sexual misconduct. Instead she is feared and loathed. The academy shant not ignore this wonderful and chilling performance come oscar time.

“Dead Man’s Party” is a musical film from the most eccentric team of direction, writing, and acting seen in a while. Instead it is a wonderful work of film, social criticism, and prose that many films forget for visuals or complicated musical numbers. Including both and an intriguing story, “Dead Man’s Party” is a lead contender to win Best Picture this awards season based on the brilliant concepts of societal ignorance and Hollywood loves to reward these type of films. Mendes, Kaufman, Laurie, Haley, Yamin, and Close all create a film, in their individual ways that brings it closer to gold on the night the awards are given out.

For Your Consideration
Best Picture
Best Director- Sam Mendes
Best Actor- Hugh Laurie
Best Supporting Actor- Elliot Yamin
Best Supporting Actor- Jackie Earle Haley
Best Supporting Actress- Glenn Close
Best Original Screenplay- Charlie Kaufman