When I first heard that Robert Eggers was going to do his own version of NOSFERATU, my immediate thought was that he would be better off if he made an original Gothic vampire tale instead. Of course if he did do that, the production wouldn't have had the brand name recognition that is considered essential for any project made in these times.
Whether we need another Nosferatu or not, we've got one. The 2024 version generally follows the storyline of the 1922 and 1979 versions, except for one major detail. In the 2024 NOSFERATU the character of Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) is established as having a mental connection with the ancient Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgard) long before her future husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) journeys to Transylvania to secure a real estate deal with the undead fiend.
This connection makes Lily-Rose Depp the real star of the film, and she gets to go through all sorts of physical ticks and mannerisms which allow her to act as bizarre onscreen as her real-life father usually does. It also leads one to venture that Ellen might actually be the real villain of the story, since it is she that inspires Orlock to leave his ancestral castle and travel to Germany, spreading death and devastation along the way. (The relationship between Ellen and Orlock has a lot of ambiguity to it--this isn't a Terence Fisher-style straight up Good vs. Evil type of vampire story.)
Robert Eggers' strengths are visuals and atmosphere, and that certainly holds true here. The production design, art direction, and cinematography are all impressive. This NOSFERATU is very well made, but it didn't have the same effect upon me as the F. W. Murnau or Werner Herzog versions did. The supporting characters are not very interesting, even Willem Dafoe's "unconventional" Professor.
As for Nosferatu himself, I thought Bill Skarsgard's portrayal resembled a comic book movie special effect rather than a true avatar of darkness. What made Max Schreck's and Klaus Kinski's versions of Orlock so powerful is that they were still recognizably human.
I also felt that the movie was (stop me if you've heard this before) too long. There's a lot of dialogue scenes where the male characters discuss and argue about what is going on (ironically, the presumed male heroes in this film wind up being somewhat weak).
The best way I can sum up the 2024 NOSFERATU is that it reminded me of Coppola's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA--another vampire film with plenty of visual flair and larger-than-life attitude that, for me, wasn't as notable as many of the lower-budget, lesser-known tales of the undead that I've seen over the years.
I would never stop you from mentioning that a film is too long, because that's one of my major complaints about so many modern films. Thank you for your honest reactions. I already have mixed feelings about this film even though I've yet to see it. And I had those feelings even before I read any reviews. Personally, I don't think we needed yet another version of Nosferatu, but remakes of old classics are what Hollywood gives us now. From your description of the characters, and the fact that the girl is the main character, I have to wonder if this revision of the story is designed to have a strong female "boss-type" surrounded by weak men in order to reflect modern gender politics. At any rate, I do plan to see this, hopefully this coming week. But my expectations are rather low. When I first saw The Witch, I thought it was fantastic. My second viewing left me less impressed. The Lighthouse was kind of overwhelming and I haven't wanted to watch it again. This may be my third and last Robert Eggers film.
ReplyDeleteI also felt that the reinterpretation of the female lead role had to do with making the film fit in with 21st Century sensibilities. All the male characters in the film (other than Orlock and Knock, who is possessed by the Count) are ineffectual, even Willem Dafoe's very theatrical Professor.
DeleteYour fine review reminded me to see this new version of NOSFERATU today. It certainly has a lot of visual flair. The entire film is oppressively gloomy from start to finish. This was obviously a deliberate stylistic choice, however, like so many modern movies with a "vision," the look and the mood can become monotonous. Since this constant gloom also seems to be reflected in the characters, it is pretty hard to be engaged with any of them. Overall, I still thought enough of the film to want to seek out Eggers' earlier work.
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