Dead Again is a 1991 neo-noir[2] romantic thriller film directed by Kenneth Branagh and written by Scott Frank. It stars Branagh and Emma Thompson, with Andy García, Derek Jacobi, Hanna Schygulla, Wayne Knight, and Robin Williams appearing in supporting roles.
Newspapers detail the 1948 murder of Margaret Strauss, who was stabbed during a robbery; her anklet is missing. Her husband, composer Roman Strauss, is found guilty of the crime and condemned to death. Before his execution, Roman is visited by reporter Gray Baker. Asked if he killed Margaret, Roman appears to whisper something in Baker’s ear. Baker does not disclose Roman’s answer.
Forty-three years later, private detective Mike Church investigates the identity of a woman who has appeared at the orphanage where he grew up. She has amnesia, cannot speak, and has nightmares. Mike takes her in and asks his friend, Pete Dugan, to publish her picture and his contact info. Antiques dealer and hypnotist Franklyn Madson approaches Mike, suggesting that hypnosis may help her to recover her memory.
Kenneth Branagh said he was compelled to make Dead Again the moment he read Scott Frank’s script as he resonated with its affection for a time when movies were a bit more “audacious”, particularly when it came to the Alfred Hitchcock films Branagh grew up watching on television such as Vertigo and Notorious.[3] Stylistically, Branagh modeled Dead Again not only on Hitchock’s filmography, but also Citizen Kane and the works of Edgar Allan Poe as he wanted the film’s plot involving outlandish elements like reincarnation to have a gothic look removed from reality.