Today I have a movie review for this time of year....
"Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds true love?" ~ Dracula
"My friends, we fight not one beast but legions that go on age after age after age, feeding on the blood of the living." ~ Van Helsing
"When my time comes, will you do the same to me? Will you?" ~ Mina
Director Francis Ford Coppola, whose body of work includes The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and The Outsiders, turned in 1992 to a different genre, that of
literary horror with an adaptation of the classic novel in the acclaimed Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The film is a mix
of horror, fantasy, erotica, and epic history, with a cast that mostly serves the story, a protagonist that is
simultaneously the villain, and a rich vampire story that gets under the skin,
all while reminding us in the post-Twilight
era that proper vampires do not
sparkle.
The film opens centuries in the past, in 1462, where a
Transylvanian knight, Vlad Dracula (Gary Oldman) leads his forces to victory
against Turkish invaders. His wife, however, believing him dead, has taken her
life, and enraged by the priest’s remarks that she’s damned, he renounces God,
vowing to avenge her from beyond the grave, and gives himself to darkness. This
could have all been avoided if the priest was just a bit less rigorous in doctrine
and a lot more compassionate, but that’s beside the point, and there wouldn’t
be a story, would there?
In 1897, Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves), a solicitor in
London, is being sent to Transylvania to make arrangements for a certain Count
Dracula after the last solicitor, Renfield, lost his mind during a trip to
Eastern Europe. Conveniently he happens to be residing in a nearby asylum, and
is being played by the eccentric rocker Tom Waits. You would think that might
be his first warning that a trip into Transylvania might be a bad idea, but no.
He bids farewell to his fiancée Mina (Winona Ryder), who’s staying on with her
friend Lucy (Sadie Frost). Jonathan sets out on his journey to meet his client,
who appears in the form of an old man (with really weird hair and interesting
shadows that seem to have a life of their own). The Count sees Mina’s portrait,
which is a ringer for the long lost wife of his earlier years. Harker,
meanwhile, remains largely oblivious of the odd shadow tricks, the mysteries
involving mirrors, the way animals behave, the general creepiness of the
castle, and lots of other things that would send most people running for their
lives. At least he remains oblivious until it’s too late. By then the Count is
on his merry path of destruction which will lead him into a bond with Mina and
a vendetta with a group led by an unusual professor (Anthony Hopkins).
The screenplay by James Hart frames the story through the
use of letters and journal entries, reflecting the fashion that Stoker himself used
in writing the novel. This is a wise course, as it makes the film feel very
much of its time. It emphasizes both the sensual and the horrific of the story
as it goes along, giving us a monster that remains sympathetic. There’s even a
dash of dark humour here and there, such as when Coppola cuts abruptly from the
severing of a head to the next scene with a roast being cut. Coppola’s style
renders the story in an over the top, operatic quality, but in a good way,
giving the characters complexity and shades of gray. Where Dracula himself
might be a monster, there remains some spark of nobility in him. And the
vampire hunters themselves must admit they are not completely noble in the end;
Professor Van Helsing remarks that they have become God’s madmen.
Coppola, who had a reputation at the time for going over
time and over budget, wanted to keep to a schedule and a budget this time, and
it started with extensive preparation in pre-production that paid off as he
went along. His crew designed storyboards for the filming in a way that would
have made filming proceed more smoothly. He chose to build sets for much of the
film instead of relying on location shooting and the problems that might bring.
And he had costume and set designers go to work, giving them the instructions
to come up with something weird. And weird is in abundance. From the armour we
first see Vlad wear into battle to the appearance (or appearances) of the Count
to the garb of a Transylvanian carriage driver, weird is all over the place,
and it’s not merely confined to Eastern Europe. We see it in the asylum, where
the design of the place looks like the work of a lunatic. The work of the crew
throughout has a nightmarish quality to the finer details, which fits perfectly
with the story matter.
Coppola also refrained from using computer generated
effects, going for more traditional techniques in conveying the special effects
needed here and there in the film. It’s another wise choice, a nod to the
tradition of horror in the past and the timeframe of the story itself.
Dracula’s appearances and abilities are rendered in those traditional
techniques, and each time, the effects work. Combined with his choice of camera
angles and the overall look of the film, there’s a very artistic quality to the
film, and it feels just right for the story. The production design overall in
the film really shines, and the film won Oscars for makeup, Sound Editing, and
Costume Design. Coppola’s choice of composer for the score was also ideal;
Wojciech Kilar, a Polish composer, gave the score an Eastern European feel,
with brooding themes and the sound of a dark chorus. The music perfectly
complemented the story.
With one exception, the cast was very well chosen. Tom Waits
as the mentally addled Renfield gives the role a complete eccentricity. He’s
totally out of his mind, a servant to the dark count who’s given to chewing the
scenery (and some insects) while confined in the local asylum. His performance
is a very unsettling one, a surprise given Waits’ usual job. Sadie Frost plays
Lucy as the naughty and not quite proper young woman of society, Mina’s best
friend. She’s daring and bold, something that startles Mina, and as the story
goes along and things become, well, complicated,
that boldness continues to assert itself.
Cary Elwes (Glory, The
Princess Bride) plays Lucy’s fiancé, Sir Arthur Holmwood. He gives the
character an aristocratic and dignified touch; we first meet him as a man vying
for the hand of the flirtatious Lucy, and we know he’s deeply attached to her,
which makes it all the more troubling for him when things go terribly wrong.
Elwes gets all the reactions right as the story moves along, and his transition
from nobleman to vampire hunter feels appropriate. Bill Campbell (The Rocketeer) plays one of Lucy’s other
suitors, the American cowboy Quincey Morris. He gives the role a brash, loud
talking and thoroughly American sensibility, a man who says what he thinks and
is handy in a fight. The third member of the group of suitors turned vampire
hunters is played by Richard E. Grant (Twelfth
Night). Jack Seward is a doctor who studied with Van Helsing, and is
puzzled by the change in behaviour of Lucy over time. Grant, who’s one of those
character actors so often interesting in whatever he does, plays him as a smart
man, but also one who feels, as he says, like a blundering novice when
confronted by something he doesn’t understand. Regardless, however, he’s loyal
to his old mentor, and rises to the occasion when called for.
Keanu Reeves, however, is the exception to the casting that
proves the rule. While he’s perfectly acceptable in films like Speed or The Matrix trilogy, he’s completely miscast here as Harker. He is
totally unable to hold an English accent, and comes across as out of
his depth. This particularly shows itself around actors like Oldman and
Hopkins, who are such skilled actors, and his lack of range is clear. We just don’t believe him with Ryder; the chemistry isn’t there, and
the problem is all on Reeves. He’s just dreary in the role.
Contrast that, then, with Anthony Hopkins, who seems to be
having the most fun of the entire cast as Professor Van Helsing. He plays the
part as an unusual scientist who accepts that there are things science cannot
explain, who wages his own fight against evil, while still respecting his adversary- at least the man he once was. And he gives the role a natural
authority as well. We accept him as the leader of this group because Hopkins
brings the gravity and decisiveness to the role. It doesn’t hurt that humour in
the film tends to originate from his performance, and he provides a great
counterbalance to the restlessness of Oldman.
Winona Ryder does well as Mina (with a cameo early on as
Dracula’s wife). She holds a better English accent than Reeves, certainly,
though it’s not quite perfect. However, she inhabits the role in a natural way,
starting out as unsure of herself, timid and less daring than her friend, and
by the end of the film finds herself in an assertive and decisive role, her
character having had gone through much along the way. She has good chemistry
with Oldman, which is pivotal for their relationship, as she goes from feeling
friendship for a man who happens to not be her fiancé (and who occasionally
shapeshifts into other things and has a habit of drinking blood) to feeling
much more.
It is Gary Oldman whose performance is the bedrock of the
film. As an actor he’s a chameleon, given to taking on new looks in a movie, as
we’ve seen elsewhere in Immortal Beloved,
JFK, and The Fifth Element. He
gives the Count, who’s been portrayed in too many films as a ghoul, a streak of
humanity and heart. Yes, Dracula is a
monster, but there’s a man in there too, and Oldman’s performance finds that
balance in just the right way. He plays the Count as restless, driven by
revenge and lost love, but still noble in the midst of his monstrous curse. It’s
a towering performance by one of the best actors working today.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is
the way a vampire movie should be made, a Gothic thriller with a sensual
romantic streak, a lavish and artistic production, and a story of a monster
grown weary of immortality. It features a cast that is mostly chosen well, with
two great actors in the form of Hopkins and Oldman as opponents in in a
struggle of good and evil. It’s an ideal Hallowe’en movie.
