The Dead ZoneThe difference between a blessing and a curse is often a matter of perspective. When the young teacher, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), reemerges from a coma of five years to discover that his life as he knew it is over--notably that his love, Sarah (Brooke Adams), has since married--Johnny believes that things can't be worse. But Johnny discovers that through some quirk of fate, he has been imbued with a kind of "second sight", the power to see the fates of others by physical contact. When Johnny shakes hands with senatorial candidate, Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen), Johnny discovers a terrible fate for the world which only he can prevent.
|
|
David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Dead Zone--from the novel of the same name by Stephen King--is a story about destiny and acting before fate decides your life for you. Johnny is introduced as a somewhat shy young man, whose relationship with Sarah has reached the point where some couples may consummate their feelings, but Johnny's belief is that he should wait until marriage. It is not a wrong decision, but in Johnny's circumstances, following the tragic accident with an overturned semi, it turns out to be the decision which sets his life on a course far removed than one if he had spent the night with his girlfriend. It is a choice which haunts him as he emerges from the coma and is forced to see that his life has passed him by. It is implied that Johnny is/was a Christian, but his outrage at the suggestion by Castle Rock's Sheriff Bannerman (Tom Skerritt) that his power of foresight is a blessing shows that he regards the power as a curse, a cancer slowly destroying him. Consider, however, his ultimate fate, and the resolution his action yields, and one has to wonder about the nature of fate, cause and effect, or even the existence of a higher power guiding Johnny in mysterious ways...incomprehensible, cruel, but perhaps necessary. Johnny's initial vision to save a young girl trapped in a house fire was by pure accident, but manifested as a kind of sympathetic awareness of others, like a psychic collective unity, like the Hindu concept of prana. But ironically, after his efforts to assist Bannerman in locating a serial killer--a pursuit which ends violently--he retreats from society, anxious at the impact his ability could have. It is following a tutoring job for a boy named Chris (Simon Craig), the son of a rich "kingmaker", who also happens to be a cautious contemporary of Stillson, that Johnny not only averts a tragic fate, but discovers that by his actions he is able to do so for others. Following his prediction about Stillson's inevitable and catastrophic presidency, he poses the question to his doctor, Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom)--himself a survivor of the Holocaust--what he would do if he could go back in time to kill Hitler. And although there is no sense at all that Johnny would even consider taking a life, Sam's answer gives Johnny all the motivation he needs to fulfill his new found mission.
Stephen King has said that the reason behind his writing of "The Dead Zone" was that he wanted to turn the tables on the assassin as a villain, to put the audience in a position where they were ultimately stuck with sympathizing with the fundamental equivalent of a "Lee Harvey Oswald". That said, King's own book, "11/22/63", shows what his opinions of Oswald really were, and Johnny is a polar opposite to that--a decent and kind man forced to action out of a responsibility to prevent an apocalyptic hell awaiting mankind. It eliminates the potential for undermining Johnny's actions, since his foresight is frequently established to be reliable; it still doesn't justify assassination in the public eye, but for the audience, we see his point of view, literally. Cronenberg keeps the details that Stillson is a closet psychopath well-hidden throughout the film, only alluding to it in a brief scene where he intimidates and blackmails a newspaper editor. A cynic might observe that this could be interpreted as politics du jour, so that when Stillson's revelation comes, it is all the more alarming to see just how readily he embraces destruction. Interestingly, Johnny has virtually no interest in Stillson; his chance encounters with him had to do with his job and then his pursuit of Sarah, now a campaign worker for Stillson. Stillson is emblematic of a politician who rallies voters with fire and gusto, a hollow titan, corruption with a smile. He is charming though, and that is why he is able to win over voters, even those like Sarah, who is not unintelligent or naive, but isn't endowed with Johnny's unique gift, one which in reality no one has; that's a terrifying thought every election year. As debilitating as Johnny's power is on his own health, it repeatedly benefits others, be it in the elimination of a terrible murderer, the salvation of a young boy, or even affording Sam the chance to be reunited with his long lost mother. Each of these episodes are inspired from the novel's episodic nature, and in turn must have inspired the television series of the same name to follow. And this is significant, because each encounter with people--psychic powers or not--is an "episode", an experience between two people, connected physically, verbally, and/or emotionally, a reminder illustrated by The Dead Zone that our interactions matter as do our choices, even if they often carry an element of chance or inscrutability.
Recommended for: Fans of a thrilling adaptation of an already suspenseful tale, a story about human connection and moral responsibility conveyed via psychic powers, and a reminder that talents may not often be understood as such until the time comes for them to be utilized.
Stephen King has said that the reason behind his writing of "The Dead Zone" was that he wanted to turn the tables on the assassin as a villain, to put the audience in a position where they were ultimately stuck with sympathizing with the fundamental equivalent of a "Lee Harvey Oswald". That said, King's own book, "11/22/63", shows what his opinions of Oswald really were, and Johnny is a polar opposite to that--a decent and kind man forced to action out of a responsibility to prevent an apocalyptic hell awaiting mankind. It eliminates the potential for undermining Johnny's actions, since his foresight is frequently established to be reliable; it still doesn't justify assassination in the public eye, but for the audience, we see his point of view, literally. Cronenberg keeps the details that Stillson is a closet psychopath well-hidden throughout the film, only alluding to it in a brief scene where he intimidates and blackmails a newspaper editor. A cynic might observe that this could be interpreted as politics du jour, so that when Stillson's revelation comes, it is all the more alarming to see just how readily he embraces destruction. Interestingly, Johnny has virtually no interest in Stillson; his chance encounters with him had to do with his job and then his pursuit of Sarah, now a campaign worker for Stillson. Stillson is emblematic of a politician who rallies voters with fire and gusto, a hollow titan, corruption with a smile. He is charming though, and that is why he is able to win over voters, even those like Sarah, who is not unintelligent or naive, but isn't endowed with Johnny's unique gift, one which in reality no one has; that's a terrifying thought every election year. As debilitating as Johnny's power is on his own health, it repeatedly benefits others, be it in the elimination of a terrible murderer, the salvation of a young boy, or even affording Sam the chance to be reunited with his long lost mother. Each of these episodes are inspired from the novel's episodic nature, and in turn must have inspired the television series of the same name to follow. And this is significant, because each encounter with people--psychic powers or not--is an "episode", an experience between two people, connected physically, verbally, and/or emotionally, a reminder illustrated by The Dead Zone that our interactions matter as do our choices, even if they often carry an element of chance or inscrutability.
Recommended for: Fans of a thrilling adaptation of an already suspenseful tale, a story about human connection and moral responsibility conveyed via psychic powers, and a reminder that talents may not often be understood as such until the time comes for them to be utilized.