Synopsis:

In this stylish and taut thriller, Los Angeles detective Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) comes to the aid of mute, amnesia-victim Grace (Emma Thompson) and falls in love with her. He sets out to discover her true identity and the source of her terrible nightmares. Mike is aided in his investigation by hypnotist/furniture dealer Franklyn Madison (Derek Jacobi) who discovers that in a past life Grace was Margaret Strauss (Emma Thompson, in a dual role) who may have been murdered by her husband, Roman (Branagh, again). Dead Again is an imaginative thriller which effectively captures the feel of contemporary Los Angeles as well as the Los Angeles of the 1940s. The screenplay, while somewhat derivative of the classic film noir, has a number of surprising plot twists and a sly, graceful humor. Kenneth Branagh is superb as the charming, street-toughened detective, Derek Jacobi is good as the antique dealer who has his own dark secrets, and Robin Williams is delightful in a cameo as a not-so-scrupulous ex-psychiatrist. Directed by Branagh with pace and style, Dead Again is a very effective thriller and a touching love story. -- Linda Rasmussen

Memorable lines:
Grace: How did I lose my memory?
Mike: Well, once a month you take six homeless women bungy-jumping off the Wrigley Cal-Fed building on the miracle mile, and last week you bumped your head and ended up wandering around the Wilshire district until you finally ended up at San Audrey's.

Critics' reviews:
Roger Ebert review

Miscellany:

Campbell did the roundhouse kick and scaled the fence, but a stunt man took the fall and shimmy down the tree.