nosferatu-enjoy

Robert Eggers is up there with Denis Villeneuve and Edgar Wright for me when it comes to beautiful shots with a strong sense of atmosphere.

This most recent retelling of Stoker’s Dracula brings the German expressionism of Murnau’s 1922 original back to the fore-front of “pop” cinema. Between long brooding shots of silhouettes in front of fireplaces, psychedelic Romani town set pieces, and driverless carriages picking up protagonists at crossroads in the void, Eggers abstract compositions bring out the allegorical aspects of the story, while maintaining a compelling visual style.

Highlights:

  • Willem Dafoe once again delivering an unhinged yet somehow intensely believable performance as the open minded physician-cum-occultist
  • Anya Talyor-Joy Lily Rose-Depp making our entire group giggle with the opening moaning sequence - and also delivering an incredible performance throughout the rest of the film
  • Skarsgard’s commitment to /the voice/
  • Watching a shot of a shadowy hand floating across the city and walls of Wisborg in 2024, and not having it feel out of place
  • The sound design was absolutely incredible

Low lights:

  • Some of the story telling beats that are more compelling in alternative versions of the story are left relatively in the background. Sexuality and agency are quite strongly featured, but the sense of the two wanting to ignore and escape the plague (and thus all the things the plague represents) is somewhat glossed over in favour of the central characters’ arcs