The Dead Zone explores the life of a good man with a curse of responsibility.īy the end of the film, Johnny has experienced enough of his power and enough of the suspicion that surrounds him that when he sees the worst future possible, he knows he must do something drastic. Cronenberg smartly allows minimal space for sentimentality in the film relying on Walken’s innate warmth to shine through. Cronenberg’s film and Jeffrey Boam’s screenplay focus on the exploits of Johnny as he moves as quietly as he can through the world mourning his lost love and facing the hurdles of responsibility that that come with his power. Throughout the film, Johnny’s abilities allow him to save some but not all, as tragedy and grief follow him. Johnny’s frustration and grief is palpable and the audience shares it. While people disbelieve or are unwilling to accept his warnings, there is little doubt that he is right.
Johnny is a Cassandra figure because the film is so firmly entrenched in his point of view. Likewise, Johnny’s ability to see into the future leaves him increasingly isolated through the onslaught of attention he receives once his gift becomes known, he becomes increasingly withdrawn though he never fully stops trying to help. Cassandra rejected him and out of spite, Apollo placed a cursed on her that despite her new-found abilities no one would believe her, turning her gift into her downfall as she must watch tragedy after tragedy knowing they could have been prevented. She was able to predict the war because the god Apollo came to Earth fell in love with her and blessed her with the gift of prophecy.
I'm so glad coming out of this that I finally got round to it as it is yet another great King adaptation worthy of its acclaim.Cassandra is a figure from Greek mythology who predicted the Trojan War and its devastating aftermath. The cast are on point and Lom who is famous for his villianous characters (Pink Panther for example) is highly likeable and steals every scene he's in. The interesting thing about the Dead Zone is it's almost like a mini-series squeezed into a single film as it doesn't have one solid storyline throughout and instead is a series of stepping stones to the brilliant finale. Starring Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and the late great Herbert Lom this Stephen King adaptation tells the story of a man who upon coming out of a coma learns he has gained the power of premonition.
The Dead Zone is one of those critically acclaimed movies which I'm astounded has taken me this long to get around to.
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