IR Film Review: DRACULA [Vertical]
The aspect of making a Dracula film is always bathed in what the filmmaker sees in what it could be but also the motivations. "Dracula" at its core is always a gothic romance but it depends on how it makes its way to that personification. Writer/Director Luc Besson, with his take on the horror romance with Caleb Landry Jones (who starred in his previous "Dogman"), has definitely an interesting play that is both similar and yet different from Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola. It does change certain key elements and takes away certain character but doesn't suffer for it. Less dependent on too many effects, it definitely plays back to Besson's strengths and power in casting, deciding most for his French made films to incorporate mostly unknowns with the exception of Christoph Waltz as a priest who is tracking the vampire. It mixes out the Renfields and Van Helsings which actually helps in the way the film progresses. There is also a side story that works well in Marco Polo sort of way with fragrance speaking to Dracula's intent although some elements of Dracula's castle don't work as well. It is however nowhere as atmospheric as "Nosferatu" by Robert Eggers but it functions very well as its down entity though it seems to abbreviate certain parts of the story in favor of others, which does make it feel different.
Jones is an interesting (if odd in certain ways) performer and he brings a different kind of humor and gravitas than Oldman. You can see him whereas with Bill Skaarsgard in "Nosferatu", he was kept away from sight mostly for a different reason. Zoe Bleu as both Elizabeta and Mina brings a hunger and sensuality that still can make this character so enticing and bold, just as Lily Rose Depp did. The push and pull works in its own way but uses another device to switch her over on her own accord which tends to come off more believable. Christoph Waltz seems to be in this movie but also another ["Frankenstein"] (and almost plays it too modern). This is the second gothic story he has been in this year (along with "Frankenstein"). This movie overall is better than that one in terms of its structure and motivation whereas "Frankenstein" lost its way more so after the first half because it switched storylines. The way Guillermo Del Toro adjusted that story did not work as well. Waltz finds the right approach overall, though he does feel slightly out of play but he is definitely not Van Helsing.
Matilda De Angelis as Maria, who is a play on Lucy but in a different way is even more powerful than Bleu at times. It is these two ladies that really permeate the entire film. Say what you want about Besson, but he can get these performances out of these ladies in an unbelievable way. Jones is smart enough and enough of a character to understand this...and this is what gives the film balance. Also the film creates it prologue in a much more believable way than Coppola's "Dracula". This is still the least of the three but it definitely has its place in the pantheon because it feels right and it feels different. It is more of a welcome return to form for Besson who definitely has ways to tell a story, even though his ability to tell them in a specific way has changed...though his voice has not. A-
By Tim Wassberg
