Shadow of the Vampire Review
by Tim Wick
Warning: There will be spoilers in this review.
Before I write this review, let me make it clear that I had a throbbing
headache the entire time I was watching the movie. I am not blaming this on
the movie. I had the headache before I walked into the theatre and did
nothing about it so it was unquestionably my own fault. My point is that my
headache may or may not have contributed to my impression of this film.
I have had varied luck with films I greatly anticipated this year. Both
Chicken Run and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon met and sometimes
exceeded my expectations. Gladiator and Shadow of the Vampire fell
short of the mark. Both films are good films, but I felt that they could
have been great.
Shadow of the Vampire is based on the filming of the classic vampire film,
Nosferatu. I have special memories of Nosferatu because it was the tape
that played OVER AND OVER AGAIN when I was working at a haunted house about
five years ago. I've never seen the film all the way through, but I think I
have seen every scene at least a dozen times. I'm not saying I hate the
film - it unquestionably has some of the most disturbing visual sequences of
any vampire film - but it sure brings back bad memories.
Max Schreck was the actor who played Nosferatu. He was a freakish looking
man and rumors abound that he didn't use makeup. Other actors on the set
found him a little disturbing and no-one had heard of him before his
performance in this film. What Shadow of a Vampire does is ask the
natural question - was Schreck just a kooky method actor, or was he a
vampire?
More than that, the film looks to draw a parallel between film making and
vampirism. In a way, the filmmaker sucks life from his people to give
himself immortality. As portrayed in this movie, director F.W. Maranu is
far more interested in his own immortality than he is in the well being of
this cast an crew. He strikes bargains meant to benefit him without
considering their impact on others. With John Malkovich in the role, he
becomes a mad scientist character - totally absorbed in his work and
incapable of caring about how his work affects those around him. His
secretive ways frustrate his crew and place them in considerable danger, but
none of this matters as long as he gets the shot.
As the "vampire", Willem Defoe is unnervingly similar to the real Max
Scheck. His sometimes frightening, sometimes funny and sometimes tragic in
his portrayal of a vampire who is nothing like we have come to view them.
For all the fans of Anne Rice's novels, Shreck provided the antithesis to
those vampires. Drinking blood is a way to sustain life - there is nothing
sexy about it. In fact, his life is nothing to wish for. Even he seems
to desire an end.
Where the film fell flat for me was in it's heavy handed delivery of it's
message. I saw that there was a link being drawn between the actions of
Maranu and the actions of Shreck long before Schreck said that they were not
so different. Because the film was trying so hard to deliver this message,
much of the plot became muddy or completely absent.
The film also tipped it's hand too early. I would have been far more
intrigued had the question of Schreck's nature been kept secret until far
later in the film. Instead, we are certain he is a vampire almost from the
moment he first appears. All that is left to reveal is why a vampire would
choose to appear in a vampire film. The answer is a little unsatisfying as
there seems to be little motivation for it.
Some scenes work extremely well. In particular, I think a scene where
Shreck discusses what it is like to be a vampire is particularly good.
There is nothing romantic about the life he describes.
In fact, any scene with Defoe is good. He slowly becomes something of a
prima donna as he recognizes his importance to the completion of the film.
But he never stops being a monster and never forgets that he is a monster.
I think that Defoe will probably garner a nomination for Best Supporting
Actor and it is something he richly deserves for what he has done here.
Shadow of the Vampire is a creative and clever film that almost collapses
under the weight of it's own creativity and cleverness. In the process of
delivering it's message, it sometimes fails to tell a story. If it had done
both, it would have been a great film. Because it only does one, I found
myself unable to really get excited about it.
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