Dark Shadows (C or 2/4 stars)
The brunt of 'Dark Shadows' (directed by Tim Burton, & based on a popular soap opera from the late 1960s) takes place in 1972, following a prologue that starts in 1752. Mr. & Mrs. Collins, with young son Barnabas, sail from England to start life anew in America; and to escape a curse that has plagued their family. 20 yrs. pass & Barnabas (Johnny Depp) rules the town of Collinsport, Maine. As lord of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is all-powerful. That is until he makes the "grave" mistake of breaking Angelique Bouchard's (Eva Green) heart. A witch, Angelique dooms him by turning him into an immortal vampire, & then buries him alive!
200 yrs. later, a governess, Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), arrives at the gothic Maine manor to teach a troubled young Collins boy who sees dead people. She is received by the boy's aunt, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), but with some reserve by his dad, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), & his live-in doctor, Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). Shortly after Victoria's arrival, who comes knocking at the front door, but Barnabas; who has escaped from the grave to restore order to his once-great family & estate. Unfortunately for him, Angelique, the jilted lover who cursed him 200 yrs. ago, is alive, thriving, & hopes to resume her relationship with Barnabas before she transformed him - IF he'll agree to stay with her. Problem is, he has his heart set on governess Victoria; and with good reason.
'Dark Shadows' starts well. I loved the often ironic use of 1970s music. Not only are the choices great, but they cheekily mirror or juxtapose what's happening onscreen. As we've seen in the trailers, Karen Carpenter is featured when Barnabus doesn't understand that she's performing inside a TV. Later, Alice Cooper (of Kiss) has a lengthy in-person cameo. As for any humor, I enjoyed the fish-out-of-water antics by Barnabas now that he's in the 20th century. And there's an energetic/campy sex scene btwn. Barnabus & Angelique (accompanied by a Barry White song) that had me rolling. Lots of fun.
But midway through the film, it all descends into an unholy mess of romantic entanglements & vengeance. Burton obviously uses the template of the 1960s soap opera, but he also mashed up ideas from some of his prior works: Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, & Sweeney Todd. But by overusing those ideas, as well as cramming in 6 yrs. of soap opera material into 110 minutes of this film, it results in a sloppy production that misses an opportunity to satire OR pay homage to the source material. And for those who care about plot coherence, it unfolds in a frustratingly scattershot manner. See, the 1st hour offers '70s retro fun, beautiful oddities, gags, & quirky characters. But the screenplay is SO poor that it nearly topples the entire movie & eradicates all of its strengths.
Johnny Depp is a big positive in this film. His performance is freaky, yet endearing, and funny, to boot. The story stinks, but when he's onscreen, his natural humor & androgynous sex appeal gets you through (reminding me of his 1st Pirates outting). The film works best when it focuses on Barnabas' 1970s culture shocks. Depp has fun with the character's bafflements. You know, it's funny, Depp is a fine actor, but as of late, he's become more of a persona; a cookster. Also in fine form is Eva Green; who vamps it up in an attempt to keep up with Depp and, for the most part, she acquits herself well. Physically, you buy her as an oddly beautiful witch. And yet, she plays with her line deliveries and her physicality to create a rather abhorrent figure, at times. It works.
When she & Depp are together, there's chemistry. The rest of the cast is either goodish, so-so, or subpar. I liked the steely reserve & side order of cheeky wit that Michelle Pfeiffer - who still looks amazing - brings as Elizabeth. Helena Bonham Carter, with her fire orange hair, is always a treat. I liked the stunt casting of Christopher Lee as a sea captain; Lee has been in many a vampire movie. But Chloe Grace Moretz plays a standard temperamental teen. Jonny Lee Miller? No one cares. And the little boy actor? No one cares. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? The movie looks great. At its best, it nails a goofy horror spoof tone. But empty characterizations, a misguided go-for-broke climax, and a headscratcher of an ending leaves me disappointed that it wasn't better.
200 yrs. later, a governess, Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), arrives at the gothic Maine manor to teach a troubled young Collins boy who sees dead people. She is received by the boy's aunt, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), but with some reserve by his dad, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), & his live-in doctor, Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). Shortly after Victoria's arrival, who comes knocking at the front door, but Barnabas; who has escaped from the grave to restore order to his once-great family & estate. Unfortunately for him, Angelique, the jilted lover who cursed him 200 yrs. ago, is alive, thriving, & hopes to resume her relationship with Barnabas before she transformed him - IF he'll agree to stay with her. Problem is, he has his heart set on governess Victoria; and with good reason.
'Dark Shadows' starts well. I loved the often ironic use of 1970s music. Not only are the choices great, but they cheekily mirror or juxtapose what's happening onscreen. As we've seen in the trailers, Karen Carpenter is featured when Barnabus doesn't understand that she's performing inside a TV. Later, Alice Cooper (of Kiss) has a lengthy in-person cameo. As for any humor, I enjoyed the fish-out-of-water antics by Barnabas now that he's in the 20th century. And there's an energetic/campy sex scene btwn. Barnabus & Angelique (accompanied by a Barry White song) that had me rolling. Lots of fun.
But midway through the film, it all descends into an unholy mess of romantic entanglements & vengeance. Burton obviously uses the template of the 1960s soap opera, but he also mashed up ideas from some of his prior works: Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, & Sweeney Todd. But by overusing those ideas, as well as cramming in 6 yrs. of soap opera material into 110 minutes of this film, it results in a sloppy production that misses an opportunity to satire OR pay homage to the source material. And for those who care about plot coherence, it unfolds in a frustratingly scattershot manner. See, the 1st hour offers '70s retro fun, beautiful oddities, gags, & quirky characters. But the screenplay is SO poor that it nearly topples the entire movie & eradicates all of its strengths.
Johnny Depp is a big positive in this film. His performance is freaky, yet endearing, and funny, to boot. The story stinks, but when he's onscreen, his natural humor & androgynous sex appeal gets you through (reminding me of his 1st Pirates outting). The film works best when it focuses on Barnabas' 1970s culture shocks. Depp has fun with the character's bafflements. You know, it's funny, Depp is a fine actor, but as of late, he's become more of a persona; a cookster. Also in fine form is Eva Green; who vamps it up in an attempt to keep up with Depp and, for the most part, she acquits herself well. Physically, you buy her as an oddly beautiful witch. And yet, she plays with her line deliveries and her physicality to create a rather abhorrent figure, at times. It works.
When she & Depp are together, there's chemistry. The rest of the cast is either goodish, so-so, or subpar. I liked the steely reserve & side order of cheeky wit that Michelle Pfeiffer - who still looks amazing - brings as Elizabeth. Helena Bonham Carter, with her fire orange hair, is always a treat. I liked the stunt casting of Christopher Lee as a sea captain; Lee has been in many a vampire movie. But Chloe Grace Moretz plays a standard temperamental teen. Jonny Lee Miller? No one cares. And the little boy actor? No one cares. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? The movie looks great. At its best, it nails a goofy horror spoof tone. But empty characterizations, a misguided go-for-broke climax, and a headscratcher of an ending leaves me disappointed that it wasn't better.