Dark Shadows Movie Review

MOVIE REVIEW: DARK SHADOWS

05/10/12

SYNOPSIS: In the year 1750, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from England to start a new life in America, where they build a fishing empire in the coastal Maine town that comes to carry their name: Collinsport. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of falling in love with a beauty named Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote) and breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death—turning him into a vampire, and then burying him...alive.

REVIEW:

Barnabas Collins: You cannot imagine how thirsty I am...

Barnabas Collins: You locked me in a box, for over two hundred years!
Angelique Bouchard: Don't exaggerate, it was only a hundred and ninety-six.

Regardless, it is a very long time and for Barnabas, the family vampire, it is a long time to go without blood. It has not, however, been that long since Director Tim Burton and superstar Johnny Depp have teamed up to do a movie. Well, you know, this is only their eighth film together. I’m thinking that’s a record followed by Tony Scott and Denzel Washington perhaps. Undoubtedly, Tim and Johnny are very well suited for each other as much as Tony and Denzel. Tim’s squeeze, Helena Bonham Carter, seems to always appear in his movies as well and yet she falls short by one compared to Tim and Johnny. Johnny and Helena are perfect cast members to the type of characters Tim has in his movies. This one is no exception. From the get go it is dark, dreary, and mysterious . . . very much Burton’s style. The bonus is that it is also funny, sharp, and sexy. The look and feel of the 70s was very well captured and a treat to watch. From the costumes to the makeup, the music to the characters, pretty much all aspects of the film added to the effect of being present in the 70s. Priscilla pointed out that “the makeup work was very campy, but good.” She is a makeup artist herself, one of her many trades, so I just say “Yes dear” to whatever she has to say about that. Having lived the 70s (oops, maybe I shouldn’t admit to that) hearing songs like “Nights in White Satin” is a really nice touch. I glanced over at Priscilla to mention how much I like that song and she immediately agreed.

So what could possibly be wrong with a Burton/Depp collaboration? Of the eight they’ve done, this one is not at the top of the list. There is some slowness in the presentation of the plot as well as some choppiness. The film is about two hours long and yet the character development and interconnectivity for the “modern” family members is not as good as it should be. The bulk of the movie is about family but the connection between the viewers and said family is weak with the exception of Barnabas himself. The strongest line is the “relationship” between Barnabas and the devilishly sexy Angelique, wonderfully played by Eva Green. This conflict helps keep the movie afloat. This film does have a talented cast and the performances were commendable across the board but I for one would have liked a little more of those performances. The script these performers used was entertaining and at times appropriately corny. And of course what Tim Burton film would be complete without exceptional cinematography which adds so much to the overall mood and Burton style. Overall the movie is not bad, I just had higher expectations of it. Priscilla enjoyed it more than I did because she is fan of the TV show and I know nothing of it. She says it’s a great film adaptation of the show . . . my reply to that: “yes dear”.