Movie Review 25/4/12
DARK SHADOWS
(2012)
Starring:
Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green
Directed
by: Tim Burton
Tim Burton seems to have found his
magic formula for success: slap pale makeup onto Johnny Depp, dress him in
Colleen Atwood-designed costumes and have Danny Elfman playing in the
background. Here, Burton and his muse take on Dark Shadows, the ‘60s
supernatural soap opera created by Dan Curtis. There have been several attempts
to revive the series, all falling flat. Do Burton and Depp fare any better?
Depp plays Barnabas Collins, the
wealthy heir to a fishery empire, whose family had relocated from Liverpool to
Maine in the 18th Century. Servant girl Angelique (Green) has fallen
for him, but Barnabas spurns her love for Josette (Bella Heathcote). Angelique,
secretly a witch, kills Barnabas’ parents, his true love and curses Barnabas to
become a vampire. The angry townspeople lock him in a steel coffin and bury him
alive.
200 years later, a construction crew
unearths Barnabas’ coffin, and the awoken vampire returns home to Collinswood,
the crumbling family mansion. It is now inhabited by Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
(Pfeiffer) and her nuclear family, including brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), rebellious
daughter Carolyn (Chloe Moretz), nephew David (Gulliver McGarth), drunken
housekeeper Willie (Jackie Earle Haley) and live-in psychiatrist Dr Hoffman
(Helena Bonham Carter) and new arrival governess Victoria Winters (Heathcote) –
seemingly a reincarnation of Josette. Barnabas goes about trying to rebuild the
family name and fortune, while thwarting the machinations of Angelique – still
alive and running the rival Angelbay Seafood business.
When the trailer for the film was
released, many criticised the apparently comedic tone of the film, especially
when compared to the deadly serious source material. In the hands of Johnny
Depp, Barnabas has become his usual quirky, fish-out-of-water (fitting given
the fishery town setting) eccentric. Much of the film plays on his unfamiliarity
with 70’s-era America, and while some moments are amusing, other gags are about
as old as Barnabas himself.
The main thing going for Dark
Shadows is its 70s setting, as reinterpreted by Tim Burton. His gothic
sensibilities and the age of hippies and bad haircuts may seem odd bedfellows,
but the collision of these two worlds is visually arresting and undoubtedly
stylish, and there’s plenty of nostalgia to be had between the lava lamps, the
Carpenters and Alice Cooper as himself (whom Barnabas dubs “the ugliest woman
I’ve ever seen”).
The
cast is also fairly impressive and generally well-chosen. Femme fatale Eva Green clearly enjoys vamping
(heh) it up and Chloe Moretz gives her a run for her money, which wouldn’t be
so unsettling if the actress wasn’t 15 years old. Michelle Pfeiffer makes for a
good lady-of-the-house, and Helena Bonham Carter is typically, entertainingly
nuts. Bella Heathcote lends a wide-eyed, other-worldly appeal to
Josette/Victoria, but is otherwise weaker than her cast mates. There’s also a
cameo from another famous cinematic vampire, who has previously played Depp’s
father in another Burton film.
Beyond that however, the cracks
start to show, just as they do on Angelique’s face. The film struggles to find
a cohesive tone, and the horror and comedy elements don’t blend as well as they
should. Burton’s fascination with the grotesque overwhelms other components of
the film, and there consequently isn’t much room for meaningful character
development. Sometimes the campy approach works for the movie, but just as many
times it works against it, diminishing any semblance of weight.
Another point of contention is that
Burton seems to be cribbing from another famous gothic TV family, as evidenced
by the film’s tagline “strange is relative” being uncannily similar to “weird
is relative”. Truth be told, Morticia, Wednesday, Lurch and Uncle Fester are generally
more interesting to watch than the Collins-Stoddards.
Long-time fans of Burton, Depp and
especially the two together are likely to enjoy this, but it’s really more of
the same from both, and is nowhere near as inventive or clever as it imagines
itself to be. Still, if it’s a vampire having a chat with hippies you’re after,
you won’t be too disappointed.
SUMMARY:
Aimed squarely at those who speak Burton-ese, but unlikely to make converts of
those who don’t, leaving them in the shadows.
RATING:
3/5 STARS
Jedd
Jong
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