Magnificent performances tell of the whirlwind courtship, marriage andhorrific murder of a beloved wife in Los Angeles back in 1949 -- a murderthought to be committed by the hands of the loving husband. Roman (KennethBranagh), a famous composer and opera conductor, falls madly in love with apretty pianist, Margaret (Emma Thompson). The two are inseparable and twopeople couldn't have been inclined to be together if the stars themselveshad a say in it. Dead Again is a puzzling story of five dominant livesinterwoven within each other. The story is unfolded back-to-back with thepresent and the past being a mirrored reflection of life and deathsystematically played out in front of us.

When a woman with amnesia, who will later go by the name of Grace, (alsoThompson) is taken in by Mike (also Branagh), a private detective, theybegin to work together to uncover her identity. What they unravel becomesmore terrifying and obscure than they could possible have known. Whatmakes this movie twice as interesting and challenging is having the actorsof "Grace" and "Mike" playing two uniquely different characters in the pastand present while presenting it in a believable manner, even when the pastand future start to mingle and form as two couples rather than as four. Atbest, this can be tricky and cluttered, not to mention difficult to pulloff, but Dead Again succeeded beautifully. Told through classicblack-and-white elegance, the past is revealed to us during the presenttime through Grace's nightmares and with the assistance of Franklyn (DerekJacobi), a hypnotist and antiques dealer, whose peculiar interest growscurious with the unlocking of clues in Grace's past.

The character of Dr. Cozy (Robin Williams), a psychiatrist who now works atthe grocery store due to his unethical means of treating his patients, isperformed with a startling mixture of vulgarity, anger, emotional rampages,and a cool steady hand of intelligence and intuition about the humanspirit. Dr. Cozy has some heavy insights into what he feels is happeningwith Grace and someone else close to her heart. A reporter, Gray (AndyGarcia), who knew Roman and Margaret (and at one time took a fancy to her,but without Margaret giving into his desires), sets his sights on Romanwhen accused of her murder. Gray is now devastatingly sick, hospitalized,and divulging his own theories of the murder when Mike sends him a visit.

The characters shine with depth and versatility and their top-qualityperformances leave a well-earned notch on each of their acting belts.Simply magnificent and the direction is powerful. I love the way the filmwalks you through the lives of the people so nonchalantly at times and thenstartlingly takes it away from you to throw a fast curve ball. Creepy,chilling, and eerie is what comes to mind as the music draws you nearer tothe truth. It has such a huge impact in the way the movie delivers theright "gut instinct" sensation. Dead Again is a sharp and memorizingmovie. It keeps you guessing at the possibilities of what may, or may not,have happened that devasating night many decades ago and the lives wholived through the ordeal, only now to surface and be caught in the vividreality of justice. Dead Again comes highly rated (by me) as one of thefinest movies in the genre of mystery, suspense, and romance. It is worththe rental fees to watch it again and again. Oh, one last thing -- watchcarefully at the very end of the movie, it's subtle, but the meaning behindit is irreplaceable.