I do not believe in god - Jonathan Harker
Then pray god believes in you -Coachman
Man lives and breathes in his name - why would he want us to kill his creation? Man kills in his own name. Christoph Waltz's unnamed priest
When you see Luc Besson’s retelling of Dracula know a couple of things going in. First it isn’t a horror film. Besson is on record as saying he hates horror films and he turned it into a love story (with blood). There are no scares in the film, through there are some really cool moments that will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Secondly know that the film, while very serious, is often very funny Christoph Waltz as a priest who acts as a kind of Van Helsing stand in, is often funny. His humor is a way of dealing with the darkness. We learn this because when things turn dark, he turns deeply philosophical in a way that lets us know that he knows there is a cost to everything. Lastly know that in one of the rare times on a decades long career Besson borrows some riffs. Yes, he riffs on Coppola’s version and there are references to a few other films, and it’s okay because he does something unique with each thing he borrows.
If you can take the film on it’s own terms, I think that you will ultimately find it to be a masterpiece. Granted it is flawed in a couple of ways, but it is also a masterpiece in the truest sense. That really is a hill I will die on. I honestly think that down the road, once people can see it or resee it for what it is, that the film will find its audience and its place in the cinema canon of vampire films.
The film is the story of Dracula from his perspective. It is the story of his romance with his wife and her death in the aftermath of war. He renounces god and is cursed with the inability to die. He then travels the world looking for the reincarnation of his love. It all spirals down to a version of the story we know. Not all the characters we know are there and somethings are changed. This doesn’t flow as we expect because Besson has altered the POV and as such changed the ground rules. Yes, he is a vampire, and yes there are other vampire agents- but they are working for him to find his love across the globe.
I was absolutely floored. Pretty much until the final third of the film this film is near perfect. I didn’t mind the riffs (in addition to Coppola’s films there are references to THE DEVILS, PERFUME, among others) , the oddly shifting tone or even the odd special effects (the gargoyles are Full Moonish). I was more intrigued by what Besson was doing with the story, me managed to blend a new take with nostalgia. I loved how he was creating this grand love story and reconfiguring the Dracula legend in a way that we really hadn’t seen before. I also loved that we had a parallel thread about god, belief and forgiveness. I don’t think we have ever had this deep a dive into that realm in Dracula tale. It’s a thread that gives deep resonance to Waltz’s priest who clearly has seen horrible things in the world and knows that it shouldn’t be like this and wants to fix it. His final confrontation with Dracula is not what you expect, it is two world weary men who have seen too much talking on a common ground. It’s note perfect for what this film is but not if you are expecting a huge Hollywood blow up.
I am not going to lie and say the film is perfect, it is not. Waltz’s character can occasionally seem like he is coming from another movie. Some of the effects are uneven. Additionally, the film’s final third is a bit too quick and there isn’t enough development of Mina. The film could have used another 10 or 15 minutes to make her stand out a bit on her own. None of it is fatal, but some of it feels like a momentary speed bump.
Ultimately, I love this film. I think it’s a brilliant rethink of the tale. More so when you realize that the film is digging deeply into the various thematic elements...and that the film should have retained the subtitle A LOVE TALE.
If you can take it on its own terms and go with the reinvention, I think you will love this. Recommended.
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