John Huston got everything right when he made The Dead. First, it was a great choice of material. In the past others have tried to adapt James Joyce’s works and failed. Instead of picking a monumental project, Huston picked his best short story. He maintains a brisk pace on this 84 minute masterpiece.
Despite the short time, Huston gives us an absolutely brilliant and intimate view of the difference between love and passion and acceptance of what we have. From the humorous and boorish conversations at the Christmas party to beautifully haunting carriage ride home where Greta, played by the director’s daughter, Angelica, tells her husband a devastating secret.
The cinematography on this movie is fantastic. Even if the rest of the movie was a disaster (which it isn’t) the transcendent shots would make watching this worth every second.
It was a great feather in his cap that he was able to have his children involved in his last film. It is especially fitting since his work with his father on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) won him an Oscar early in his career.