Directed By Luc Besson

Starring – Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Zoe Bleu

The Plot – When 15th-century prince, Vlad (Jones) denounces God after the devastating loss of his wife (Bleu), he inherits an eternal curse: he becomes Dracula. Condemned to wander the centuries, he defies fate and death itself, guided by a single hope; to be reunited with his lost love.

Rated R for violence, some gore and sexuality

Dracula | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical

POSITIVES

The story of Dracula has been quite literally beaten to death with adaptations and re-imaginings so creatively diverse that have each appraised uniqueness to such a familiarly structured tale, and Besson’s take, the 38th feature length film from the French filmmaker, is certainly no different, conjuring a romantic comedy of heartbreaking tragedy that easily fleshes out the single most humanistic portrayal of the supernatural character that we’ve ever seen put to film. The script, also from Besson, takes some admirably ambitious chances in the depths of its creativity, with the effective instances pertaining not only to the sprawling scope of its structural outline spanning 400 years, allowing intimately vulnerable opportunities to indulge in the compassionately warm and charming Vlad every bit as much as physically frail and methodical Dracula, but also a thoroughness for advanced world-building that recontextualizes so much of Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s old concepts and story beats in refreshingly invigorating contexts, succeeding as this adaptation that very much subscribes and values the building blocks of its literary origins, without disrespecting what fans have come to expect from the cherished experiences of this story, all the while enacting a gothic romance of eternal yearning and generational intuition that feels sweetly endearing between Dracula’s bouts of blood-thirsty rage. Besson’s direction alongside his star-crossed lovers also enacts a lighthearted tonal enveloping that caters particularly well to the candid depiction of their lovesick passion, without anything feeling artificially phony or sardonically forced while mirroring the gruesome gore of the occasional severed limb of practical effects, and though the variation from one extreme to the next unavoidably elicits some thick tonal shifts that had this engagement feeling like two different films continuously fighting for atmospheric dominance, the deviation away from thickly dreadful is a refreshingly welcome one that caters well to the randomness of events that transpire spontaneously in Besson’s films, offering something enticingly approachable for both genders in the audience, making this a solid unexpected date night kind of experience. In a lot of ways, it feels like Besson is maintaining the mantle for Hammer horror films of a bygone generation, where the grit and grandeur of stylistically Grindhouse impulses readies evocatively potent towards the integrity of the audience, leading to something that can effortlessly be assessed as A pageantry in spectacle, even without adorning musicals to sell the immensity of a particular scene. It’s also a beautifully enamoring film in nearly every presentational component of its influential production, featuring practical on-site filming locations, hauntingly hypnotic cinematography, medieval gothic costume designs and set decoration, and a luscious music score from Danny Elfman sensually adhering to atmospheric ambiance of the rich tapestry crafted subliminally within the movie’s evolving atmosphere. Three-dimensional style has always been a compelling aspect to Besson’s films, in some way, shape or form, but no attentive detail here stands out meanderingly in ways that makes the creative intention of its appeal feel obviously distracting to a setting or scene’s integrity, instead flourishing with the kind of naturalized subtleties that makes them feel authentically attained in an unpolished kind of way that sneaks up on the audience. On top of this, the movie is led by a career-defining performance from Caleb Landry Jones, that captivates a distinctive duality in the extent of his masterful portrayal, allowing him to disappear seamlessly into the role, whether physically or emotionally. Dracula’s 400-year transformation is realized with some thick make-up, prosthetics and wig designs that unsubtly call back to Gary Oldman’s Dracula turn from the 1992 “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, but it’s truly Jones’ contorted vocalizing and physically frail sagging that wipes any shred of familiarity about the actor away in the blink of an eye, leaving a soulless shell of a man defined by vengeance and grief, and though Caleb’s time as Dracula is what everybody inevitably paid to see, I found his turn as Vlad just as vital to the integrity of the performance and transformation of the character, particularly while riding the waves of impeccable chemistry with Zoe Bleu, as he tenderly tantalizes an affectionately warm and compassionate protector who feels invincible, courtesy of love’s uplifting power.

NEGATIVES

Despite finding “Dracula” an entertaining and stylistically intoxicating diversion for the better part of the two hour runtime, there still is more than enough flaws in the extent of Besson’s execution to keep this from being among my five favorite Dracula adaptations of all-time, beginning with some creative choices to the character, as well as some production choices, that brought unavoidable winces to the same kind of overindulgence that plagues so many of Besson’s more recent films. The first among these are some of the re-imaginative ways that he inspires familiar links to past portrayals, with his own semblance of originality, such as brandishing the psychologically hypnotic power that Dracula has over women being tied to a perfume. This is “Saved by the Bell” levels of ridiculousness when it comes to undermining the powerful capabilities of a character like Dracula, but even worse when illogically we’re forced to go along with the fact that it somehow draws every woman to him, yet no men, and it served as a confoundingly dumb plot device that left me annoyed, each time they repeatedly returned to it. As for unflattering technical choices made, there’s a conscientious decision to link Dracula to a group of statue gargoyles that serve as his minions, and not only are the C.G designs far too distractingly artificial to the overwhelming practicality of the properties surrounding them, but they’re enacted in ways that unintentionally elicit laughter to the integrity of the some grippingly dramatic sequences, in turn leading to much of the aforementioned jarring tonal shifts that I previously expected from a Dracula movie with a romantic comedy tone, but not one that I ever grew comfortably content with, the deeper the movie utilized them, and I wish the movie opted for Dracula being more of the one man wrecking crew that he’s typically known as, instead of continuously calling upon these artificial puppets that feel like they belong in a Ghostbusters movie. Aside from some unflattering choices to the movie’s creativity, the script from Besson is also very top heavy, with regards to the time spent away from Dracula, involving an antagonistic squad of holy rollers seeking to find and kill the vampire, leading to a noticeable sag in momentum and especially the movie’s pacing, each time the storytelling deviates away from him. Considering this squad is led by Waltz, a charismatic veteran actor who I’d listen to enticingly while reading the phone book, I’m appalled at the lack of energy or emotionality that he delivers to the portrayal, making this stand out as an obligatory paycheck film, instead of an attempt at something memorable, but it’s even worse considering this group’s arc feels so one-dimensional and repetitive, in order to pad out the movie’s two hour runtime, and considering Jones gives his all to the performance of Dracula, I can honestly say that the deviating away from that lead continuously took the wind out of my sails, leaving the movie in search of a compelling balance, the likes of which they never competently find. It’s also top heavy in the ways that almost the entirety of the movie’s first half is spent in various flashback modes, instead of progressing the narrative in ways that make the most of its minutes, especially considering we go through as many as three of these instances within the movie’s first forty-five minutes. Part of the problem definitely pertains to Besson incapable of finding natural ways to imbed exposition to the interpretation of the audience, but I think there’s as many flaws in the design of its structure that flashes forward 400 years, as quickly as the aftershock of the opening tragic sequence, and for my money, I wish that this movie pursued its storytelling linearly, instead of periodically, allowing for a more consistently persisting brand of storytelling without the unnecessary halts that grow tediously frustrating the more we seek advancement in our supernatural protagonist.

OVERALL
“Dracula” sinks its teeth into a lighthearted romantic emotionality and gothic grandeur, in ways that allows Luc Besson to leave his own reimagined imprint to such a cherished property, A feat made all the more legitimate with Caleb Landry Jones’ tragically haunted turn driving a stake through the heart of adoring audiences. Despite this, the film’s level of optimistic prominence is held back by brash tonal clashes, unflattering creative choices with the script and special effects, and a flatly registering performance from Christoph Waltz, in turn leaving a film that occasionally bites, even if it doesn’t suck

My Grade: 6.2 or C