Dead Again (1991)

In 1948 Los Angeles, a German expatriate composer (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) is put to death for the murder of his wife (Emma Thompson). But before he is executed, he tells a reporter (Andy Garcia) that "it's not over". Jumping some 40 years later, a private detective (Kenneth Branagh) is asked by a priest (Richard Easton) to help a young woman (Emma Thompson) who has lost her memory. When a hypnotist (Derek Jacobi) puts the woman under hypnosis and regresses her in the hope of finding the cause of her amnesia, what they find out is that not only is it indeed not over but the long fingers of a past murder reach into the present. Branagh's follow up to his critically acclaimed directorial debut HENRY V is a crackerjack thriller! If HENRY V brought up talk of Welles, DEAD AGAIN conjures up the term Hitchcockian though in reality it's closer to Polanski or De Palma than Hitchcockian. What it is is a rip roaring rollercoaster ride that makes you want to get right back on and ride it again! The original script by Scott Frank (GET SHORTY) is strong but Branagh's greatest ally is Patrick Doyle's stunning Herrmannesque score. With Robin Williams, Hanna Schygulla, Campbell Scott, Christine Ebersole and Wayne Knight.