A festive holiday dinner in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century brings epiphanies for a married couple. At the home of his spinster aunts Kate (Helena Carroll) and Julia (Cathleen Delaney), the socially maladroit Gabriel Conroy (Donal McCann) and his reserved wife, Gretta (Anjelica Huston), reflect on their marriage, Gretta’s memories of her first love and what it means both to live and to love. Director John Huston’s final film is a faithful adaptation of the James Joyce short story set in 1904. The first scene, which lasts approximately an hour in the film, is the annual post-New Year’s holiday party given by the two elderly Dublin sisters and their unmarried niece, Mary Jane.
The film follows the story with almost complete fidelity. “The Dead” ends in sadness, but it is one of the great romantic films, fearless in its regard for regret and tenderness…a film as quiet and forgiving as the falling snow. – Roger Ebert
”The Dead” is so fine, in unexpected ways, that it almost demands a re-evaluation of Huston’s entire body of work. The remarkable (final) sequence, in which the film’s third-person narrative slips into the first-person, has an emotional impact not easily described. It’s not sentimental. In the way of any work of art, it’s complete in itself. The production is close to faultless,.- New York Times
We are treated to the visual trimmings of a holiday feast, along with the Irish folk music that will, just when you least expect it, turn your expectations upside down. The lively characterizations of every player in this movie bring it to vivid life; it’s as if you have entered a Christmas card, and can taste, smell and feel everything around you. That James Joyce’s story revolves essentially around a simple, but devastating revelation, is what makes it brilliant. – Amazon reviewer
Starring Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Dan O’Herlihy, Donal Donnelly, Helena Carroll.
Note: This is not strictly a Christmas film as the holiday party which comprises much of this film is a New Year’s party, but the season is well communicated.