Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht -- Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog's remake of the 1922 silent film of the same (or similar) name feels like an elegy. To what or whom, I'm not sure. Maybe that the events of Nosferatu detail the final months of Count Dracula's living nightmare (one change Herzog made to the original was to restore the character names). The pacing, music, and style remind me of Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man or Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising, two tales about men traveling to their deaths, and it wouldn't surprise me if Nosferatu had an influence on those films.
This is a slow, patient, beautiful film. Hypnotic, even. Silence overwhelms while scenes seemingly take ages to play out. There's very little outright horror, but the sense of dread and terror is palpable. Klaus Kinski brings an unmatched intensity to the role of Count Dracula. His body is impossibly rigid, like at any moment a coil will burst and all hell will break loose. Many actors would dream of expressing as much emotion with their whole bodies as Kinski does with his hands. This may be his best work and Herzog finds amazing ways to play with his shadow or bathe him in light.
Isabelle Adjani may one of my favorite horror actresses between this and Possession. It feels like she will do anything to make a movie work. It's especially evident in the latter, but she lets the crazy eyes fly a few times in Nosferatu and I wonder how many actresses these days are willing to let go of their PR sculpted images like this. Bruno Gans is solid, as usual. For the first time, I noticed that he looks like a cross between Anthony Hopkins and Peter Serafinowicz. Only mildly distracting.
After an hour and twenty of a sober mood, Nosferatu opens up with a bizarre farcical exchange and ends on a note that felt like the end of Vampire in Brooklyn to me. I like it, but it's a bit abrupt. The only other complaint I have is the one I have with most tales of Dracula: I hate Renfield. Why is he always so annoying and overacted?
Maybe not a great movie to invite all of your friends over to watch or to watch at midnight when you're already sleepy (as I did), but definitely one to watch in the land of silence and darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment