Title: Dark Shadows (spoiler free)
Post by Hazelmutt on May 13th, 2012 at 12:52pm
I want to write a clever review of Dark Shadows, but to do that would be to give away of the great jokes, many of them situational, in the film. So I’ll start by saying I won’t be clever, and I’ll give it to you straight from a long-time Dark Shadows fan’s perspective. I was the right age for this show to scare the living bejeezus out of me when it first appeared on television. Fast forward 25 years – I’m living alone in a cabin in Vermont with no television reception, and the local (10 miles away) video store gets in several seasons of the original series. Score! So, I watched the series again, as an adult, and found it wildly entertaining. It was stagey, obviously shot with one-take-let’s-move-this-along craftsmanship, but somehow immensely enjoyable.
With that background, I trekked out last night to see Tim Burton’s new version of this old classic. I loved it. If you are a long-time denizen of the saga, you’ll find fresh takes on the Collins story. As it is a Burton film, it almost goes without saying that this take on the classic is funny and witty. It is beautifully shot and edited. As Ty Burr noted in his review, the visuals remind one of a classic Hammer film. The cast is fantastic, starting, of course with Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. Reserved, yet forceful, he is brilliant as a true 18th century gentleman and vampire having to adapt to 1973. Don’t overlook Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as the Collins matriarch overseeing a business in decline and in charge of a difficult daughter, a nephew who is more than a little bit off, and a ne’er- do-well brother. Let’s just say she has a lot on her mind already when Barnabas shows up. Her ‘great, now I have to deal with this’ take on Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is a gem of a performance. Stealing the show is Eva Green and the Collins family’s prime nemesis, “Angela.” Bella Heathcoat is smartly cast as Victoria Winters (she comes off as the sweetest young woman who has ever warked out of a Diane Arbus nightmare), as is Johnny Lee Miller as Willie Loomis.
For those of you worried about having to watch a film with Helena Bonham Carter in it (as I was), I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at her portrayal of Dr. Julia Hoffman. She’s deep in the character, rather than asserting her own personality. With regard to one scene in particular, let me just say that the original Julia Hoffman would never do THAT! With all due respect to Grayson Hall (whose best performance was in Night of the Iguana – watch it if you haven’t seen it), HBC’s take on the character is a much needed boost to the story.
So, if you’re a long-time fan, GO. You won’t be disappointed. If you know nothing or very little of the original series, GO. A five minute tight, well-edited intro regarding how Barnabas became Barnabas will get you right up to speed. Thank you, Tim Burton, for coming back to your warped, happy roots.
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