Tags
1990's, Anne Rice, Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Horror, Interview with the Vampire, Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan, Stephen Rea, Tom Cruise
Film Title
Interview with the Vampire
Director
Neil Jordan
Starring
- Tom Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt
- Brad Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac
- Kirsten Dunst as Claudia
- Antonio Banderas as Armand
- Christian Slater as Daniel Molloy
- Stephen Rea as Santiago
Accorded a mixed reception upon its release, Interview with the Vampire is a mature, Gothic and well-mounted tale soaked in both sadness and blood from director Neil Jordan and scripted by Anne Rice, from her own novel. I personally have never really had a problem with the film and have felt it has been underrated over the years since its release. Anyway, back to my review of it.
Interview with the Vampire begins in modern-day San Francisco. Daniel Molloy is an eager reporter who documents people’s lives. His client this time is Louis de Pointe du Lac, yet Louis is no ordinary client. He is a 200-year-old vampire. Louis wants to tell Daniel the story of his life after he was “born into darkness”, fascinated Daniel begins to listen. The film flashes back to Louis’ life just before he was transformed into a creature of the night. He was an owner of a plantation just south of New Orleans in 1791, who fell into deep depression after his wife died in childbirth. Wanting to be freed from the pain and suffering, Louis was turned into a vampire by the cunning Lestat. Louis later comes to regret wanting death as Lestat has now condemned him to immortality. He finds it hard to live as a vampire because of his good nature and this impacts on the fact that he can’t bring himself to kill humans in order to survive. Lestat on the other hand shows no mercy and enjoys draining the life away from humans. Although commonly at each others throats, the two are bound because of their vampirism. One night the hunger inside Louis causes him to bite the neck of Claudia, a young plague victim. Lestat sees the little girl as an opportunity for company and something to make Louis stay as he knows the guilt Louis suffers from. He transforms Claudia into a vampire and they form a somewhat macabre ‘family’. As the years pass and the family move from place to place, Claudia forms a bond with both Louis and Lestat. Lestat teaches her to be a killer of which Claudia has no problem as she has a thirst for blood that challenges even the brutal Lestat’s, whereas Louis becomes almost a surrogate father to the child he never had. Claudia eventually becomes resentful of Lestat for turning her into a vampire, as she still retains the doll-like appearance of a young girl but has mentally grown up into a woman. Events soon come to a head between the three as power shifts between them and Louis attempts to search for answers regarding vampires. Stunning visuals, gorgeous set decoration and all round great performances populate this melancholy tale of the loneliness of being a vampire and the Gothic horror surrounding it .
The first thing to praise in Interview with the Vampire has to be Neil Jordan’s directing. We get a vampire movie with a sombre heart that is very adult and mature in theme and does not pander to a younger audience. Anne Rice writes the screenplay from her own novel and generally succeeds in being faithful to the source material. The visual design of the film should definitely be praised for the way it captures the various time zones and countries encompassed within the narrative, from Louisiana to Paris. Set decoration is particularly stunning in the scenes of an underground group of vampires that Louis and Claudia find, the various catacombs and chasms glimmering in candlelight with a Gothic splendour. Make-up and effects are also of the highest order in bringing to life the lives of these vampires. Standout scenes include Louis watching his last sunrise before his transformation, Claudia convulsing violently during her metamorphosis as her blonde hair morphs into red curls and a gruesome scene of vampires putting on a play involving the sacrifice of an innocent victim. The score provided makes for an eerie listen that highlights the themes of darkness and sorrow; the opening sound of a single choir boy’s voice singing a lullaby is enough to send chills down the spine. The presence of Louis’ mournful narration adds a certain pathos to the story, as we listen to his experiences and how he feels that being a vampire is a curse, and not a gift.
Although there was controversy surrounding the casting of Tom Cruise as the flamboyant and sadistic Lestat, Cruise handles the role in an effective enough way. It’s not one of his best performances but he still gives the role his best shot. Brad Pitt is very good as the tortured Louis, bringing sympathy to the role of a man living an endless life of regret and pain. It is Louis who forms the centre of the story as we witness his reluctance to harm in order to survive and his relationship with Claudia. The biggest impression made on the film has to be a very young Kirsten Dunst as Claudia. She plays her role with an astonishing amount of maturity whilst also showing a devilish side to this vampire. Claudia is the most tragic of the trio of main vampires; as an audience we feel her struggle at learning that although her mind has matured, her outward appearance will always be that of a young girl. In many scenes, Kirsten Dunst steals them from her more experienced co-stars with her mix of startling complexity, expressive eyes and sense of entrapment. Fleshing out the supporting players is a seductive and dangerously charming Antonio Banderas as the head of a secret sect of vampires, Christian Slater as the man listening to Louis’ extraordinary story and a menacing Stephen Rea as the deceptive Santiago.
For those who want a sumptuous, blood-soaked tale of regret, Interview with the Vampire is most certainly advised viewing. Bold, melancholy and mature, it is a vampire film that questions the effects of transformation and whether it is as great as it first appears.
jjames36 said:
Mostly agreed. It lags in the middle, when Lestat is off screen, but all in all, it’s solid.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment man.
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cindybruchman said:
I remember going to see this and thought the acting was subpar and the story silly. Maybe I was in a bad mood that day.
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vinnieh said:
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it. When I first saw it years ago I wasn’t sure about it, but watching it now it is significantly better.
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drakulus23 said:
This is how you make a real vampire movie not that Twilight crap that we have now.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, totally agree with you on that statement.
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Parlor of Horror said:
I agree with your review, I loved this film and the visuals were stunning. At the time there had been a lot of silliness in vampire films and this got the subject matter back on a serious note.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I did like how the film took a serious look at vampirism.
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Parlor of Horror said:
At first I was mad about Tom Cruise being selected as Lestat, but he vindicated himself. He didn’t feel like Tom Cruise in the film, he felt like Lestat – I never thought about it much but it could be one of his best acting roles because the actor disappeared and only the character remained.
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alexraphael said:
This was my first 18 movie so I’ve always had a soft spot for it. I’ve only seen it once since, and a long time ago, but your review seems pretty on the button 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, hope you get round to watching it again in the future.
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Teepee12 said:
Loved the book, thought the movie was lame though it tried hard. This was not Tom Cruise’s finest hour.
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vinnieh said:
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it.
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teny said:
All my love for vampires go back to this movie. Twilight did take away most of that love though. I actually liked this movie better than the book, and only by making a sequel to this that the vampire genre can be saved.
It is underrated, and I felt the same with the 1997 movie Vampire Journals too, but it doesn’t come close to the Interview that is for sure.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, it certainly is one of my favourite vampire movies.
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thomasjford said:
I’ve never seen this film. Another to add to the list I guess!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, definitely add it to your list.
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chris2508 said:
Brilliant review. I watched this recently and I agree with the entirety of what you are saying.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for your comment, glad you agree with what I wrote.
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Mark Walker said:
Good work here Vinnie. I really don’t understand the criticism that this, and especially, Tom cruise gets. I thought the film was excellent and if was great to see Cruise play against type. I really need to see this again. It’s been too long.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks Mark. Yeah it is very underappreciated in my book.
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literaryvittles said:
Great review, can’t believe I haven’t seen it! Especially since I love dark, gothic films. Thanks for the recommendation.
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vinnieh said:
If you’re a fan of dark and Gothic films, this is the film for you.
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drakulus23 said:
This is for all the awesome movie reviews I read from you: http://drakulus.com/2013/12/12/the-sunshine-award-2/ keep up the good work :]
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the nomination. And thanks for the positive comment, really appreciate it.
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sonea scissorhands said:
The book by Anne Rice (one of my fav author s) was an amazing read and it did the movie justice I feel. It truly does show vampirism at it’s greatest period. Great review too.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I haven’t read the book but have heard good things about it.
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A. Michael Schwarz said:
I have never tired of this film and have seen it many times. The whole cast was brilliant and the film stayed true to the book. And in the end, even Anne Rice loved it.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I loved the cast they assembled. Especially a young Kirsten Dunst who delivered an amazing performance as Claudia.
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projectedrealities said:
Nice! Thanks very much for the follow and the comments. I liked your review, though it maybe could use some topic headers between the paragraphs (and maybe some more breaks between paragraphs that have gotten as tall as they are wide). Other than that, good stuff!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I am considering changing the layout of my reviews, so thanks for the advice.
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AGentleandQuiteSpirit said:
I enjoyed this movie very much, and the book too. I think they both are some of the best Vampire stuff out there so far. The concept that vampires ‘die’ when they don’t keep up with the changes of the times is a wonderful concept to explore. I didn’t really like Tom Cruise, but I don’t really like him that much at all, everything else was wonderful. Thanks for the reminder to watch it again soon! These types of vampires have so much more depth than anything that sparkles. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, they really do have a lot of depth. I liked the way in which both Louis and Claudia’s feelings towards immortality change and how they come to resent Lestat.
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Lights Camera Reaction said:
One of the films I’ve always meant to get around to. I’ve heard wonderful things about Dunst, whom I’m a big fan of.
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vinnieh said:
You definitely should watch it. Dunst is amazing in this and shows a startling amount of maturity for someone so young at the time of filming.
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sati said:
Wonderful review! It’s one of my favorite novels and favorite films. Dunst is indeed amazing and I as a big fan of Cruise performance – he embodied Lestat even though it was a risky casting.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment Sati, Dunst was the biggest highlight of the film in terms of acting.
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markmc2012 said:
I have never seen it. I’ve considered seeing it, but just never have. I think my general dislike of horror in the 90’s has kept me from wanting to see it.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks you should give it a try.
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snapcracklewatch said:
I LOVE this movie !!!
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vinnieh said:
Good to hear.
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Beth said:
I still remember the brilliant orange, blue and green of the oubliette scene all these years later, and the blue veining in LeStat’s face for the closeups. Although Anne Rice didn’t originally want Tom Cruise for the part, I thought he was brilliant, and nothing like any character he’s played before or after. Thanks for bringing it back:0)!
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vinnieh said:
This film was indeed a visual cornucopia.
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Eccentric Muse said:
Tom Cruise was simply FABULOUS in this film! This is the ONLY vampire film I love. Great review. I am loving your blog! 🙂
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vinnieh said:
It’s one of my favourite vampire movies. Cruise may have not been the first person I thought of for the role, but he delivered nonetheless.
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Eccentric Muse said:
Cruise is an actor I rarely have doubts about. No matter the character he embodies it well, giving his all. Top reason why I fell in love with him.
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vinnieh said:
He is a very talented actor that is for sure and its good to see him still going strong.
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