“The Dead Zone” (1983)
Arguably David Cronenberg‘s most mainstream picture, “The Dead Zone” is nevertheless a cracking little thriller with some smart supernatural elements. And at the center is Walken, in an inspired piece of casting as Johnny Smith, an everyman school teacher who spends five years in a coma, waking to find not only that the love of his life (Brooke Adams) has married someone else, but also that he’s able to glimpse the secrets of others when he touches them. Johnny finds new purpose in life when he shakes the hand of aspiring politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen), who it appears will be bring about a nuclear holocaust. Walken was hardly an obvious choice for a man as ordinary as Johnny, but he works brilliantly, downplaying his usual offbeat rhythms, while still letting a touch of weirdness creep in. The loss of almost everything in his life gives him a haunted quality that’s perfect for those skeletal cheekbones and outsized eyes, and Walken brings an enormous amount of pathos to the role. Somehow, this was the lone collaboration between Walken and Cronenberg to date, but we can only keep our fingers crossed for a reunion down the road.
The Essentials: The 5 Best Christopher Walken Performances
